@#$% Doctors and Hospitals Did That Really *%@@ed Me Off

Posted June 25th, 2012

Hospitals are places where great efforts are made to save lives. They can be almost magical places. Sometimes, the magic just isn’t there. I have great respect for doctors.

Will You Be My Number Two?

Posted April 7th, 2012

Like the best selling children’s book states, everybody poops. It’s really an amazing process, if you think about it. You can ingest just about any food (and many non-foods, I suppose), your body will take out of it what’s needed, and get rid of the rest.

Welcome to Machine

Posted March 21st, 2012

The inside of the circular opening of a CT machine. It obviously wasn’t new, a little grimy and stained. There was a familiar red light coming from the laser. I knew I shouldn’t look at it, so I closed my eyes. I had been asked if I’d had a CT scan before. I said I’d lost count.

Speech

Posted February 6th, 2012

Nine years ago, I was in a very dark place. The only thing keeping me going was the light at the end of the tunnel. At the time, I didn’t know if the light was real or a mirage.

Where Do I Find the Miracles?

Posted January 9th, 2012

That was the question from a friend of mine. He’s the father of a six year old boy, husband of an oncology nurse recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He, like millions of us, is seeking the miracle of a cure for cancer.

Why Am I Poisoning Myself?

Posted December 19th, 2011

It’s that time of year again. No, not Christmas, but in a couple weeks the New Year, 2012, will be upon us. With the new year, comes resolutions, kept and broken.

When to Hold a Hand, When to Kick an Ass

Posted December 12th, 2011

As an attorney, I worked with cancer survivors. I tried to make their lives easier, so they could focus on recovery and treatment. It could mean talking about planning issues, advanced medical directives, employment problems or family issues. I had a client in her 30’s with stage three breast cancer. She was the single mother of a young daughter. The father was less than reliable and never let the truth interfere with his relationships with women (at one point he lied to his fiancée (not my client) and denied he had a daughter).

Christmas with Cancer

Posted November 28th, 2011

It’s supposed to be The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Even for those of us lucky enough to be “normal” and “healthy”, it’s a time of stress and high expectations. We’re supposed to be happy, even when we’re dealing with uncomfortable family get togethers, spending time at office “holiday” parties with co-workers we don’t like all that much and trying to cram gift purchases into our budgets. Add to it the cold, snowy and icy weather and financial issues you may have, December is an emotional mine field for the unprepared.

The St. Louis Cardinals

Posted October 20th, 2011

They’re in this year’s World Series. They beat our home town Philadelphia Phillies, which should be reason enough to root against them. But they were my brother’s favorite team, so it’s not that easy. Bart died of cancer (multiple myeloma) in 2006. That was the last time the Cardinals won the World Series. By October […]

Everything I Needed to Learn About Dealing With Cancer I Learned While Digging Up A Bush

Posted October 12th, 2011

You’ve got this bush in your yard you really don’t like. Maybe it’s dead, dying, diseased, ugly or just in the wrong place. You want to get rid of it. You could cut it just above the ground, but you’ll have this stump there. It’ll have a much cleaner look if you can dig it […]