Getting Easier While Getting TougherCancer treatment can be a whole world of contradiction for a patient. Because of our individual biologies and the unpredictability of treatments, not to mention the cancer cells themselves, it...Reactions0reactionsComments4 comments
Colitis and OpdivoOpdivo, an immunotherapy, can cause many side effects. Some of which are itching, rash, fatigue, pneumonitis, and colitis. I have always had the rash and fatigue and it appears that...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
My Partner Is Not My CaregiverIn cancer terminology, there is a lot of very loaded language. Terms like "survivor" have become so ingrained that patients even worry about when it is okay to use the...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Doctors Sometimes Need Advice TooHow many of us have lived with the notion that the doctors with whom we interact know everything about the medical circumstances we find ourselves in? That they are smarter...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
Chemo AngelsHave you ever heard about Chemo Angels or Angel Mail? Chemo Angels are a wonderful group of people who simply want to be Angels in the lives of cancer patients or caregivers. They...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
I Had to Retire. Now What Do I Do with My Time?Way too many of us find that we can no longer continue to work at an 8-5 job after we are diagnosed with cancer. Besides the challenges of having to...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Inhaling Just FineA friend of mine who teaches yoga asked me about how my lung cancer affects my breathing. That is an interesting question with a variety of answers, which I will...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
What My Rash Has Taught MeI have certainly learned a few things through the process of dealing with my latest, nagging side-effect. This persistent rash, covering me quite literally from head to toe, could have...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Sweeping Myself Into a PileLately, I have been getting really tired of cleaning up after myself. Literally, cleaning myself after myself, if that makes any sense. I am constantly shedding so many dead skin...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Recalculating...I attended a workshop taught by Shera Dubitsky, formerly a senior advisor to Sharsheret, a national not-for-profit organization supporting young Jewish women and their families facing breast cancer. She called...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Positive Contributions Equal a Brighter DayHave you ever met that person who enters a room and is instantly likable? Someone who has a positive comment to make about everything she sees? Think of the type...Reactions0reactionsComments3 comments
Meet Nicole - Part IIThis is Part II of the article series, Meet Nicole, taken from a March 2018 interview with Nicole McNair of Greensboro, NC. Dusty:How did they tell you that you had...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Right Place and TimeFor all my complaining about living in Los Angeles, I have to acknowledge how fortunate I am to be here. As with many things in life, since being diagnosed with...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Medical Marijuana - An Ideas Whose Time Has Come?I attended a LUNGevity Lunch and Learn meeting yesterday. During the Survivor Stories session, a man I will call Jack began telling his story. He was diagnosed with advanced small...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments
Get Your Smile OnLaughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain. --Charlie Chaplin I recently listened to a Webinar put on by the Texas Oncology Foundation that was called Survivorship: Your...Reactions0reactionsComments1 comments
Sleep Hygiene and a Cancer Patient's InsomniaOn a recent visit to my oncologist, we got to talking about some of the issues I was currently dealing with. The treatment I had been on was particularly low...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Do I Think About Having Lung Cancer Every Day?A good friend of mine asked me a little while ago if I think about the fact that I have lung cancer every day. I had to stop for a...Reactions0reactionsComments12 comments
The Link between Physical Health and Mental HealthPhysical health and mental health are inextricably linked. People living with lung cancer not only have to manage their physical symptoms, but also cope with the negative impact their physical...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
"Wow! You Look Great!"I went to lunch with some friends who haven't seen me in several years. In fact, I probably haven't seen some of them in four or even five years. We...Reactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Tools That Can Help You Manage Your DiseaseFighting lung cancer is nearly a full-time job. The time is long since past that we as patients should sit back and just turn over our health to our doctors...Reactions0reactionsComments2 comments