A Poet’s Autobiography of Cancer

Posted May 31st, 2023

 In the fall of 2022, my life was changed by a single phone call when I was diagnosed with stage II B-cell, non-specified, non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the lymphatic system. For me, a large tumor was growing in my left armpit. The tumor was damaging my ulnar nerve to the point […]

Happy 29th Birthday OncoLink!

Posted March 7th, 2023

Twenty nine years and still going strong! When I was finishing up nursing school in 1994, computers were a novelty. I still researched my school papers using the card catalogue and email was just starting to gain popularity. In a small office at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Joel Goldwein was playing around with creating […]

News on the Passing of the Lymphedema Treatment Act!

Posted January 23rd, 2023

The beginning of 2023 has brought exciting news for the lymphedema community. The Lymphedema Treatment Act (LTA), first introduced as a bill in Congress in 2010, was finally passed into law on December 23, 2022. This landmark legislation will result in Medicare coverage for lymphedema compression supplies starting January 1, 2024. Why is the LTA […]

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 […]

Seven Extra Years

Posted July 2nd, 2022

Today is Sharon’s 7th survivor anniversary. Thank you Sharon for your contribution of this poem to mark this meaningful day. So long agoOnly yesterday Everything changedBut was there all along Eyes openHeart openHeart ripped out Lost manyGained so much Keep goingFull of gratitude Never forgetLife Sharon Civa, MBA, is an ovarian cancer survivor and information […]

March is Multiple Myeloma Action Month

Posted March 29th, 2022

Part of getting involved in advocacy and action is learning more about the disease and cause you are advocating for to improve research, treatment development, supportive care, and resources. Multiple myeloma is often a cancer very few have heard of, but once it touches you, you never forget it – as it has for Michael […]

Survivor Story: Erin

Posted June 4th, 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 Erin. 37-Year-Old Cancer Survivor and Mom of Four Shares Her Survival Story to Help Others An advanced Stage III colon cancer diagnosis was the last thing I expected to receive […]

Countdown to 100,000 OncoLife Survivorship Care Plans: What is a Survivorship Care Plan?

Posted February 25th, 2021

In April of 2007, OncoLink launched the OncoLife Survivorship Care Plan, a tool to create care plans for people who have survived cancer. As that tool reaches the milestone of 100,000 care plans created, OncoLink’s Managing Editor, Carolyn Vachani, explains what a survivorship care plan really is – and is not. In 2006, The Institute […]

Countdown to 100,000 OncoLife Survivorship Care Plans: How it all started

Posted February 19th, 2021

In April of 2007, OncoLink launched the OncoLife Survivorship Care Plan, a tool to create care plans for people who have survived cancer. As that tool reaches the milestone of 100,000 care plans created, OncoLink’s Managing Editor, Carolyn Vachani, looks back on the program’s origins. In 1996, The Institute of Medicine published a report called […]

In the Name of Pinkness

Posted October 8th, 2020

I’m at the neighborhood Acme, standing in the produce aisle, reaching for some shiny red MacIntosh apples, when I hear a female voice behind me: Remind all the women in your life to get a mammogram… Startled, I drop the fruit into my shopping cart, look around the store, and try to figure out where […]