Living

It is Monday. Every other Monday finds me sitting in the chemo chair. Today is that day. When you walk into my clinic, you are greeted by this huge Chihuly...

In early 2013, I bought myself an iPad and got seriously addicted to playing Candy Crush. After a few months of furious swiping at those candies, I noticed that my...

Do you love music? Has music played a major (or even not-so-major) part in your cancer experience? I am really not a music aficionado. I never could carry a tune...

Three years ago, when I began blogging about my lung cancer treatment, I was not sure whether I was writing for myself or for others. I had conceived of the...

I got involved in patient advocacy about a year after my lung cancer diagnosis. By that point, I'd been through one series of chemotherapy, a maintenance therapy, and was in...

For some patients, dryness affects not just the skin, but also the eyes, nose, and mouth. Cracked, chapped lips are commonplace, as are bloody noses and bloodshot eyes. Each of...

Chemotherapy treatments aim to kill cancer cells in the body. These medications target fast-growing cells in the body and destroy them. While some of the fast-growing cells being killed by...

Lung cancer patients and caregivers alike will relate to the trauma of that initial diagnosis. Being told that you have lung cancer is very difficult news to receive, even when...

Just because you have lung cancer and are in treatment, that doesn't exempt you from exercising.  In fact, exercise may just be the thing that can make you feel better...

The magic number, or so they say. I'm not really sure who "they" are but I'm guessing experts. In the beginning, upon receiving this devastating news, I was a non-stop...

Cancer patients have a wide variety of potential nerve issues. Some are caused by treatment, others directly by the cancer itself, and perhaps yet more are the result of ancillary...

The winter months can bring plenty of things we enjoy: hot cocoa, fuzzy slippers, lots of cookies, and time with family and friends. But it can also bring some things...

Did you know that statistics show that if lung cancer in non-smokers were in its own category, it would rank in the top 10 FATAL cancers in the United States?...

“I would never agree to a feeding tube,” says one person. “Whatever happens, do NOT pull the plug on me,” says another. These are the types of very personal decisions...

After nearly three years of chemotherapy for my stage IV lung cancer, I still had a full head of hair. I'm not so certain that it is going to survive...

I have been on chemotherapy for two years and then immunotherapy for the next two years (still on immunotherapy).  BOTH list cognitive issues as side effects and I am here...

As lung cancer survivors, we join social media groups for more information and support.  Our social media friends become "family." We have a love for them like no other. We...

Undergoing cancer treatment can be taxing on the body. There will always be days when a patient just wants to curl up and hide under a blanket. Sometimes those days...

Anyone diagnosed with lung cancer knows the importance of having insurance. Many families are devastated by the overwhelming costs of treatment for cancer. Some lose their life savings, their home...

In the midst of the holiday season, it is easy to let stress overwhelm you. In-laws, children, out-of-town friends, office parties, decorating, meal planning, travel, guest rooms, terminal illnesses, wrapping...