Caregivers Empower the Next Generation of Cancer Care

Posted August 3rd, 2023

The role of the caregiver is multi-faceted as they provide family members, friends and partners with the physical care and emotional support needed during treatments and beyond. This role is critical as they are often the patient’s lifeline, and they act as an advocate for the patient with the medical staff providing the treatments. Yet, […]

What if we count all that still remains?

Posted June 11th, 2021

June is National Cancer Survivors Month! To honor survivors, we will be sharing stories from folks with cancer and their caregivers. Today we hear from Marlys. It was the sunny month of July. We were sharing a vacation rental with our daughter, son-in-law, and the grandkids in a nearby mountain village. My husband’s cancer was […]

Why You Should Tell the Story of the Mountain You Climbed

Posted August 14th, 2019

My husband, Gary, and I climbed several mountains during his cancer years. He was on a treatment to slow down prostate cancer cell growth. One of the side effects was osteoporosis. So in our middle years, we laced up hiking boots and conquered the nearby Oregon Cascades. And then we took on more mountain ranges. […]

Can we choose happiness even in cancer?

Posted May 9th, 2019

Grand-dog Chloe and I are glamping in an elegant Airstream in a land of sunny skies and craggy mountain ranges and saguaro cacti. Tucson. I’m grand-dog sitting while my son and daughter-in-law are traveling internationally. Stenciled on the vintage trailer next door is this thought: “Today, I will be happier than a bird with a […]

Dear Caregivers, We See You and We Thank You.

Posted November 16th, 2018

Caregivers are everywhere. They are taking care of the sick, the elderly, their family members, loved ones, neighbors…the list could go on and on. They work a sometimes thankless job and are not always recognized for all that they do. Despite this, they keep doing what they have to do to provide the best care […]

The Unsung Heroes

Posted November 6th, 2017

If you spend any time talking to someone going through cancer treatment (or treatment for any serious illness really), they will likely comment on the doctors and nurses caring for them and the kindness of friends and family. Some may mention their primary caregiver, but many forget to publically acknowledge these heroes of cancer care. […]

11 Secrets I Learned About Living After Losing

Posted March 14th, 2017

After Hubby died of cancer, I relocated to southern California, claimed my daughter-in-law’s pink-rimmed bike as my own, and said Yes to several not-necessarily-planned-far-in-advance adventures. Adventures, such as … Puerto Rico with son and daughter-in-law, spring break with daughter and son-in-law on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, full-ride scholarship to writers/speakers conference in Cincinnati, meeting long-lost […]

Saying Goodbye to My Mother: A Caregiver’s Story

Posted November 7th, 2016

By Kelly Baldwin Heid Six months after I lost my mom to BRCA-related breast cancer, LBBC asked if I would be willing to share my care-giving story. The words (and emotions) poured out of me – I could have gone on forever about my experience. Now, nearly five years later, my mother’s death—and the months […]

The Day that Hell Came to Stay

Posted December 21st, 2015

Throughout my relationship with Heather, I would have described our union as about as equal as a couple could get. We both would work hard and play hard. Our life together was in order. Organized. That was attributed to Heather’s ability to be on task. To manage. She clearly was great at managing our life together. By […]

The most meaningful thing I’ve ever done was being a caregiver

Posted December 4th, 2015

  I lost my father to cancer when I was 21 years old. I was in the Navy and out at sea when I received the news. I wasn’t there in the months that led up to his succumbing. I wasn’t a witness to his suffering. I was not there to see how this effected […]