Samantha Mixon

Feeling like a burden is so common to those with disabilities and pain. Just know that if you have this feeling, you are not alone. I've been living with stage 4...

This is an open letter to those lung cancer patients who feel like a drug seeker. You are not alone. I was diagnosed on November 27, 2012, with stage 4 non-small...

I often wake up feeling like I just had a dream, the twisted ones, which happen when you fall asleep at the wrong time. The afternoon sun and/or middle of the...

I would love to say to others when they lose a loved one, "It'll get easier with time". But does it? Or is it a continuous cycle with good and bad...

The difference between palliative care and hospice are totally different. Some people will think, "Oh no, palliative care". I know that I used to think like that, but I've finally relented and...

The title doesn't mean "Before Christ" or "Anno Domini" (Latin for the year of our Lord) in technical terms. But philosophically, I've come to believe it also means: Samantha (before cancer)...

I'm sure that anyone who walked into my house would ask, "Why is your Christmas tree up?" This is a complex question. In a way, it's honoring my dad's tradition. It has...

When people see me or pictures of me, they don't think, "That poor sick girl." They think, "Samantha, you can still work all day. You look fine. You got this."...

In October 2020, lung cancer patient and advocate Heidi Onda began getting frustrated with hospital administrators and marketing departments rejecting a campaign. Finally, she asked her husband, Pierre, an internist, to...

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. It is a time that takes me back to my childhood when my family was complete and I felt all of...

I know what you all are thinking, "What did you do?" But to me, it was just going home. It was the home I had known my whole life. It's the home...

Losing a parent can be tough at any age. When that parent passes away unexpectedly a few hours after you last talked to them is worse. But, having lung cancer...

I don't get how financial assistance is supposed to work, especially when you have a dependent. They don't even pro-rate. My 16-year-old daughter still lives with me. I'm a single mom and...

I recently had a friend from high school reach out to me. Although she lives in Texas, her friend she wanted me to meet was in the county next to mine. A...

I'm not a great advocate. I write about lung cancer and help people by being available to listen. But that is not me going out into the world and screaming to the...

Eight years ago I was told I had 12-18 months to live. As I said, that was 8 years ago. My daughter was 7 when I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung...

I've been surviving lung cancer for over 8 years now. I can't even begin to count the number of people, friends, that I've lost. And seeing the pain in the families...

This article was written in January 2021. Well, of course, the virus did not end after the new year. In fact, there are more cases than ever. We are patiently...

I just surpassed 8 years of living with lung cancer during lung cancer awareness month. That month is in November for those who didn't know. Eight years of making friends, and losing...

Read the beginning of Samantha's story in Not Today Rona (Part 1). Suddenly, there was a shortage of toilet paper. After the first few cases of this incurable virus spread like...