Wine Racks and the Mystery of Survival

Posted September 16th, 2022

I think I got the racks as a Christmas present in 2000. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma the day after Thanksgiving that year, then started chemotherapy soon after (I think three to four days a week). When I put them together, I didn’t know what to think. Will I not live long enough to […]

Self Destruction

Posted September 8th, 2022

I Didn’t Want to Be Who I Am I’m a hypocrite. My rational self tells me obviously true things about my self-destructive habits. Yet I continue on my road to nowhere health-wise. I came pretty close to dying of cancer. I want to be healthy for as long as possible. But you couldn’t tell that […]

Rodney Warner

Fear

Posted July 26th, 2022

The Fear Never Goes Away. That’s By Choice. It’s been more than 21 years since I was first told I had cancer and nearly 20 years since I last got into remission. But cancer still haunts me. The thought of it returning terrifies me. Maybe it wouldn’t be so scary if it hadn’t nearly killed […]

Rodney Warner

Do Black Lives Matter Less Than Those of Cancer Survivors?

Posted June 18th, 2020

With every action there is a reaction. Yet another Black American is killed in police custody, but this time it’s different. Protests break out across the US, in major cities and small towns. Many of them dominated by suburban White folk like myself. But the backlash against the protest is just winding up. I’m a […]

Rodney Warner

Welcome to Cancerland!

Posted March 18th, 2020

If you’ve been treated for cancer, “social distancing” is old news. Where not to go, what not to do, hand washing, been there done that. Why? Because the disease and treatment can leave your immune system a mess. All this annoying shit that, if it’s not driving you crazy now but might in the future, […]

Rodney Warner

Disability, Work & Cancer: A Survivor’s Lessons Learned

Posted November 12th, 2019

Social Security disability (SSD) benefits can provide you and your family an income while you’re unable to work because of cancer or treatment, but there’s a lot of fine print. If you expect to be out of work for at least a year, or your cancer isn’t curable, SSD is worth looking into. It’s a […]

Rodney Warner

I Don’t Mean to Frighten You, But…

Posted June 6th, 2019

Editor’s note: Rodney originally wrote this piece in 2014 – it remains a favorite. Not favorite as in oh that’s uplifting or funny. But in a that’s reality – a look into the mind of a survivor and one most other survivors can relate to all too well. Thanks to Rodney for being vulnerable – it reminds […]

Rodney Warner

Cancer Center Advertising: Doing More Harm Than Good?

Posted July 21st, 2016

You see them everywhere. On TV, in print, on the sides of buses. The ads run on radio and on the internet. They’re ads for cancer centers. They cost a lot of money. Money that’s not spent to develop new cures, control the cost of treatment or improve the quality of hospital food. Someone is […]

Rodney Warner

Cancer Death Rates are Falling and the Healthcare System Doesn’t Deserve All the Credit

Posted July 18th, 2016

The death rates of some of the world’s deadliest disease killers are declining and doctors and researchers are at a loss to fully explain it. As much as we want to pat our doctors and medical researchers on their collective backs for their work it doesn’t completely explain what’s going on, according to an article […]

Rodney Warner

Unemployment Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Posted June 1st, 2016

There are any number of factors that can impact whether a cancer diagnosis will be fatal. Which cancer is involved, its stage, your age, other medical conditions you may have and overall health are just some of the many variables. A recent study shows a new issue to think about: if you recently lost a […]