When I first started thinking I’d be lucky enough to celebrate 5 years free of cancer, I imagined that I’d host a huge party with everyone I knew. The 5-year NED (“no evidence of disease”) mark is sort of a magic ticket in the cancer realm, a sign that, if you’ve managed to outrun aContinue reading “5 Years Cancer Free: Babies After Breast Cancer”
Category Archives: Cancer
After-Shock
She’s nobody’s foolto think she deserved some reprievefrom these headwinds and chaos,the tumultuous dayswhen she was caught up in the storm.Now, she spins circles,finds the air is still loadedwith the damp heaviness that forbodes a second storm. I wrote this poem for the Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt #165, which was provided this week by BobContinue reading “After-Shock”
Time’s Calm
The stillness of that year,captured in still frames,plucks at my veinslike the IV needle.We drive to the hospital,to empty waiting rooms,to masked facesand empty eyesto perdition,or so it seems.Still, that waiting room haunts me,awakening masked emotions.But time passes smoothlythrough the eyes of a needle,until the ghost of that year fades,wavering in my mind’s eye,and IContinue reading “Time’s Calm”
Wide-Open Field
the hallway holds a spiraling blur of blinding light,eternal and etherworldly.I step through with hands shading eyes,trying to glimpse the world ahead.For the longest time, it remainedcordoned off,a heavy blockage impenetrable,the stone path held in place by gatesonly partially of my own making:the limit of struggle,the toxins of trauma,too many brick blocks boarding me up.Now,Continue reading “Wide-Open Field”
Bittersweetness
You ask how I know “who is who”today as we page through countless baby picturesIt’s easy to differentiatethe expressions you three make,your homegrown fixturesBut would I be lying if I saidwhat gives it away is my head,my lash-less eyes and slow gestures I wrote this poem for the Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt #143 at theContinue reading “Bittersweetness”
5-Year Cancerversary
There is a lot about life that is cyclical. Trends, for instance. The 90s are really “in” right now, or so say my students. We were at a roller rink a few days ago, and every song they played was from 1990-2005. It was definitely creating an intense wave of nostalgia for this Millennial. EvenContinue reading “5-Year Cancerversary”
What Should We Write?
Do writers have an obligation to tell a greater message within a novel, or should it simply be a fun story meant for entertainment purposes? Somewhere along the line, I slipped from telling a story simply for the joy of others’ reactions and the excitement of piecing together the narrative and into the passion ofContinue reading “What Should We Write?”
Healing Connections
I’d mentioned earlier about driving (more like, sloughing through a never-ending mire of idling vehicles) in New York City in mid-May. My main reason for traveling to the area was to attend a “Breathe Now” AYA cancer survivor retreat in Chester, New York. I’d discovered the retreat over the winter when searching for more AYAContinue reading “Healing Connections”
Discovering the Why
My short essay “Discovering the Why” has been selected for social media publication with Wildfire Magazine’s Family April/May 2024 issue. I’m so grateful to have discovered Wildfire almost three years ago through a friend in a virtual AYA cancer support group. At the time, I was wrapping up cancer treatment and longing for a communityContinue reading “Discovering the Why”
Taproots
Burrowed underthe surface,secreted shadowsthat swirl sandand flooded landwith God’s hand.I’ll masquerade as a poeta little longer,learning to findmyself beneath my words, expose my owntaproots. Shortly into remission from stage three cancer, I was joking with my primary care physician: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?” “Well,” she said, surprisingly hesitant. “It makes youContinue reading “Taproots”
Words and Coffee Writing 