Tag Archives: chemotherapy
At Grandma’s, Time Stood Still
As I recovered from each chemo, I often wondered what it would be like if my Grandma was still alive. I imagined myself staying at her house or, rather, a one bedroom apartment in the city. A fifth floor walk up, I used to run up the stairs, sometimes taking two at a time. Breathless, …
Don’t You Dare Be Negative
Recently, I looked online at various cancer coping magazines and saw their submission guidelines for publishing. What I came across astounded me. Many websites that claim to be designed for people who are coping with cancer warn any potential contributors that they must be “…informal, upbeat, and positive”, and that “…articles about death and dying …
Oh Hair, Where Art Thou: The Chemo Hair Loss Journey
I sit here, three and a half months after the last poisonous infusion that scared my hair follicles into stupor, and I can still see my scalp through the little bit of hair that managed to grow back. What’s the holdup? I ask in my head rolling my eyes upwards as if the hair could …
Last Chemo: The Anti-Climactic Victory
My last chemotherapy was on December 5th, 2013. The evil Taxotere, the vile Carboplatin and the wicked Herceptin. I dreamt about it for weeks, for months. It was going to be a glorious day marking the end of my torture but instead I sort of felt like a kamikaze fighter – going into the battle, …
The Cancer Fight Myth
When I think of a fight, I think of the battles in the Middle Ages with swinging swords and horse riders, metal armor and long marches into unknown territory, face to face combat. I think of the Matrix like bullet dodging and wall scaling. I think of cage fighting, boxing, wrestling. I think of car …
The 5-Hour Brain Tumor
“So, have you noticed anything different about your eye?” My breast cancer oncologist asked, peering at my left eye with interest. The same eye that had cancer not even a year ago. It was around noon on a Tuesday, two days before my last chemo was scheduled. “No, why?” I asked perplexed and then rushed …
Creepy Crawley Panic Attacks
They come at the most unexpected times. They slide in like an unwanted note under the door, like a tide coming in too soon, like a swarm of bees on a mission. They make my heart beat faster and faster. They fill my stomach with their poison so I don’t eat. They close up my …
Side Effects: Somebody Must Want You Up There
“Somebody must really want you up there.” Said my cab driver as he looked upwards and rolled his eyes towards the sky. I tried to smile politely meeting his eyes for a microsecond in the rearview mirror. I was on the way home from the hospital, just having received a white blood cell forming booster …
storytotellya 
Recent Comments