Editor
The writer hails from County Antrim and has lived in the desert southwest of the United States for over 20 years. Her blog is her virtual home away from home.
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positively negative
During a webinar with colleagues this afternoon, my cell phone rang. No caller ID. “Unknown.” Presumably, like all recent “unknown” callers, this would be one of my ever-expanding new network of medical professionals. Initially, I thought it was the cheery Maria from my dentist’s office, confirming a routine cleaning, but it was the other Maria, The Breast Surgery Coordinator, whose…
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Uncategorized
47 days
I read something the other day about a woman who felt she had two distinct lives – the one before cancer and the one forever changed by the diagnosis. In thinking about my own journey through cancer country, I am stuck on determining the actual departure date from the life I’d had without cancer. I may have had it for…
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discovery day
I should have written about it at the time, right after I heard “tumors” in the context of my right breast but it took 17 calendar days before I could actually put pen to paper. Sort of. It’s all too common, apparently – all too acceptable. Somewhere between taking a shower and putting on deodorant, on a Saturday like any…
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BRCA genes, Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer Language, Diagnosis, Dispatch from the Diaspora, Early Detection, Family history, Mammograms
myths that matter
Cancer has settled into our house, with its attendant complexities and choices. Although a newcomer, I have quickly surmised that for those ensnared deeper in its labyrinth, cancer is a full-time job. The shock of the diagnosis is initially numbed by a flurry of appointment-making and form-filling, the latter of which necessitates a foray into the family medical history, which…