Author Archives
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Celebrating and Movin’ On! (10th and Hopefully Last Post in Crossing Cancer)
Exactly a year ago today, I veered from blogging about goggles and cold water to a new subject–my battle against cancer. Hopefully this is the 10th and *last* post on this subject and I’ll move on. Last September, a kind doctor with veteran eyes told my rookie… Read More ›
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Crossing Cancer (Chapter 9)
I haven’t posted in a long time–there’s been lots of ups and downs, so I’ll try to be concise. Last time I wrote, I was nervous about surgery, a double mastectomy with level 1 and 2 lymph node removal in my left… Read More ›
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Crossing Cancer (Chapter 8)
If my goal in writing about fighting cancer was to be transparent, I’ve done a poor job recently. The truth is that pulling the thoughts out of my head and putting them on paper is getting harder. The last time I wrote, I had just finished my… Read More ›
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Crossing Cancer (Chapter 7)
The ball dropped—Mauricio and I watched it in my tiny room. In the background the beat of the IV machine signaled over and over that it was time to do something. Maybe move from the antibiotics drip to a blood transfusion. It… Read More ›
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Crossing Cancer (Chapter 6)
As I get deeper into the cancer treatment process, I need a certain mind-frame and energy level to finish what I start to write. Feeling good happens but is unpredictable. This is primarily due to the dizzying quantities of medicine… Read More ›
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Crossing Cancer (Chapter 5)
Tomorrow marks my eighth treatment. Perhaps like house arrest, time has concurrently crept and flown by. I shift between thinking how far I’ve progressed to wondering when I’ll glimpse the finish line. I have nine more treatments left which translates to another 3.5 months… Read More ›
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Crossing Cancer (Chapter 4)
The day after I got the diagnosis, a friend came over to tell me what to expect with chemo. He mentioned that he researched and asked questions until he was sure he was with the right doctors. Then, he dove… Read More ›
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Crossing Cancer (Chapter 3)
From the minute someone hears “you have breast cancer,” she undergoes a series of tests to decide what’s next. They biopsy the cancer to see what kind it is, they investigate how far it’s spread by MRIs of the specific area…. Read More ›
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Crossing Cancer (Chapter 2)
Yesterday marks an end to something. In just three weeks, the following events happened: I found a lump, was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer that has spread to my nodes and started chemotherapy today. Of course, it’s more complicated than… Read More ›
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Crossing Cancer (Chapter 1)
It’s odd to be writing about cancer in a blog I co-founded about swimming crazy distances to raise money to fight illiteracy. This past wednesday when the doctor told me that the lump I found in the shower two days before was… Read More ›