Around 2015 I started experiencing dizzy spells, especially when tilting my head back or reaching above my head. I brushed it aside at first, but at one point, it became so bad that there was a thumping in my ears that sounded like a helicopter was landing on top of me, and I almost passedContinue reading “Fatphobia and Cancer”
Tag Archives: healthcare
Waiting
* for my time to turn crimson, to curl in on itself and drop or else grow plump and green and turn back toward the sun for remission or recurrence or RIP for casual conversations, uncovered a hug from mom and dad or a friend or even a kind nurse for infection or a vaccineContinue reading “Waiting”
Broken System
In 2017, my life, and the life of my sister, dramatically shifted, and it had nothing to do with cancer. We’d planned to visit our parents that Christmas. They’d visited us the year before, and we hadn’t seen them since. We decided to make the 14-hour drive rather than fly because our old pug couldn’tContinue reading “Broken System”
The Long, Long Road to an Imperfect Diagnosis
Total time between when the mediastinal mass was found and I received a “definitive” diagnosis: 130 days Procedures and scans to get there: 7 chest x-rays, 2 CTs, 2 full-body PET scans, 1 MRI, 1 FNA/bronchoscopy, 1 CT-guided core needle biopsy, 1 bronchoscopy/thoracotomy What I owe (not all procedures have been added to the billContinue reading “The Long, Long Road to an Imperfect Diagnosis”
The Final Silence: Cancer Walks 