I’m not one to worry about what comes next. I live in the moment. That’s the attitude I had nearly 20 years ago when I was first treated for breast cancer, and that’s how I took it two years ago when a routine mammogram showed that my cancer had come back. I was not the least bit concerned about having a mastectomy. But this time, after the mastectomy, my surgeon suggested that I consider breast reconstruction.
Cancer Survivorship
Although Alexis is only 9 years old, cancer has been a part of her young life for nearly three years. Long trips from Jamestown to Roswell Park for treatment are not easy, but she finds ways to stay positive by listening to her favorite music, staying active and embracing those around her.
Regardless of how or when you choose to share your experience, remember that your voice could make a difference in someone’s life. All I can hope is that my words might reach another survivor and remind them that they are not alone.
Six years after treatment for kidney cancer, Robert Kayser reflects on the good fortune that led to his surprise diagnosis, successful surgery, and a healthy retirement filled with bicycling, artisan bread baking and traveling in coastal Alabama.
When Ian Cherico was rushed to the hospital, he was in a fight for his life. “Minutes later and I could have died,” he says. Ian was only 17 years old at the time, and his body was shutting down. It all started with a headache he couldn’t shake.
If you’ve completed your cancer treatment — whether recently or years ago — congratulations! The opening of Roswell Park’s new Survivorship and Supportive Care Center means you’ll now enjoy one-stop shopping for the follow-up care and services you need to “live your best life” as a survivor.
What if a simple daily practice of clearing your mind and breathing slowly could help you feel better, sleep better, reduce pain and anxiety and reduce your risk of cancer recurrence?
Everybody has bad days, but nobody tells you how to handle them. The times where you feel hopeless, anxious or paranoid. When you feel angry that cancer will always be a part of your life, scared that it may come back or frustrated that side effects from treatment might never go away.
I hope you will take a moment to write down what you want your 2017 to be. And whether you are in the middle of treatment, completing treatment, or newly diagnosed, trust that you will get to a place where you can say, “I'm happy, and I am alive.”
With only a few days until Christmas, I’m doing everything I can to channel that strength and use it to begin 2017 on a grateful and optimistic note.
There are certain times of year when my cancer story makes me feel incredibly isolated. There’s the time surrounding April 14, the day I was diagnosed, July 29, the day I was deemed “in remission” and, the one I’ve experienced most recently, the month of October.
When a co-worker reveals that they are battling cancer, it can be difficult to know what to say or how to act.