Learning to live with chronic pain
Reaching toward the phone on my bedside table—a halfhearted effort to silence my alarm before it riles the cats further—I am reminded that today will be another spent in pain and discomfort.
A Staring Contest with the Reaper, Pt 2
To live, I must continue not to blink, lest the scythe of the reaper cut me down.
So, I stare back. Unwavering. Stalwart. Tired, nonetheless.
Radiation in the mix
I was going to expound on how today’s oncology appointment was one of the most important of my journey so far, but I realized...
My neck, my back, my tumours and my cracks
Living with cancer is like burning a candle at both ends. One wick is the gentle fire of life. As it melts away the...
Trials and tribulations
The last time I wrote something, I shared that I was pursuing a clinical trial involving a chemotherapy pump that will deliver drugs straight...
HAI, there.
The sound of the intercom broke the silence in an exam-room-turned-storage-closet at Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Centre. “Attention, please. Code brown. Flood. Clinic B. 105,”...
Three more under my belt
Stepping into the late afternoon sun from the cancer centre, I can almost instantly feel my skin’s sensitivity to the heat. In the time...
Stoicism, cancer, and happiness
Throughout my experience with cancer, which spans a decade to days gone by when my mother was staring down her disease, I've had to find ways to keep moving forward through some of the most difficult days of my life.
The path is often challenging and surefootedness is never a guarantee. There are detours, unexpected water features, and shoe-sucking muck. It's never known what lies ahead, even if you're somewhere you've been before.
One night in cancerland
I can feel the cool breeze from the oscillating fan perched atop my dresser passing back and forth across my body.
It feels as if I've stepped into a cool room after being outside on a hot day, the artificial wind kissing my damp skin.
I'm having night sweats. Again.
On the map, but off the trail
Within the confines of the small examination room, Shannon and I nervously await the arrival of my oncologist. Although there’s always plenty riding on...