Tag: Breast cancer

A Story You Won’t Soon Forget

For the past ten years, I wrote my book in isolation. Long hours in front of my computer at my home, or a coffee shop, library and on Amtrak traveling between our home in North Carolina to Washington DC or New York City, and in other spaces I can’t remember. Wherever the location, I rarely…… Continue reading A Story You Won’t Soon Forget

Twenty Years After the Cancer Diagnosis.

Next Sunday, November 5th, will be the 20th anniversary of my mastectomy. Afterward, my surgeon draped her arm over my shoulders and said I was “cured” as she escorted me out of her office on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C. Each November 5th , I would make a big deal of the anniversary date of…… Continue reading Twenty Years After the Cancer Diagnosis.

SECOND GUESSING CANCER

I’ve written in a previous post about my experience of being diagnosed with breast cancer 18 years ago. I’ve always wondered if I should have forgone a mastectomy and adopted a watch and wait stance. However, when my doctors never gave me that option and my family was aghast at my doing anything less than…… Continue reading SECOND GUESSING CANCER

CANDICE BERGEN, MURPHY BROWN AND ME

On the front of The Arts section of the New York Times this past week was a picture of Candice Bergen. Older (aren’t we all?) but still lovely even carrying thirty extra pounds. Making no excuses for the weight gain, she says, “I live to eat.” (I can relate to that.) She had written a…… Continue reading CANDICE BERGEN, MURPHY BROWN AND ME

WHITE AMARYLLIS

In my last post I wrote about the trauma surrounding my cancer diagnosis. In spite of mostly negative consequences of living as a “cancer survivor” there were a few positive occurrences. For example, meeting special people I would have never encountered under normal circumstances. A month after my mastectomy I joined a cancer support group…… Continue reading WHITE AMARYLLIS