This time last year, I received my sixth and final cycle of chemo. And earlier this month, I learned I’m still in remission. During chemo, having this much time felt impossible. A whole year. An eternity. A moment. I’m surprised, daily, at how far I’ve come, how much better I feel. While looking at myContinue reading “Chemoversary”
Tag Archives: chemo
Radiation
Radiotherapy is done. One more mile marker in the rearview. One more thing to recover from. Though chemo was easier than I expected, radiation was harder than I expected. Both my medical and radiation oncology teams have been great, and I felt like I was in good hands during both, so that wasn’t the reason.Continue reading “Radiation”
Milestones
“Damn the things we must survive to survive.” –Pat Parker to Audre Lorde in a letter dated January 4, 1988, from Sister Love: The Letters of Audre Lorde and Pat Parker 1974-1989 It’s mid-August, and I’m done with chemo. I feel like I have enough distance from my last cycle to look back on thatContinue reading “Milestones”
The Big Cs
This week, my sister was asked to choose between her career and my safety. As I approach my sixth cycle of chemo, stressors like this coupled with exhaustion and bearing witness to the selfishness and ignorance of anti-maskers have made me prickly, chiseling my words into sharp edges. Right now, America, you need sharp words,Continue reading “The Big Cs”
Scars
Today, I’m appreciating the resilience of this body as well as its vulnerability. It’s day 11 of my first cycle of chemo. The bone pain from my Neulasta shot has faded. The nausea is gone. Despite the anemia, I have more energy than I have in a long, long time. I still have my hair,Continue reading “Scars”
The Final Silence: Cancer Walks 