Articles

Women who have breast cancer and those who are at high risk for the disease sometimes take the anti-estrogen drug tamoxifen. Tamoxifen is a medication that binds to estrogen receptors and blocks the action of estrogen on breast cancer cells. When estrogen is blocked, the breast tumor doesn’t grow as …

I’m sitting on my front porch, enjoying the quiet sounds of summer and clicking away on my laptop. In the last few months I lost sight of who and what are important to me and it took a recent very difficult situation to cause me to step back, evaluate, and adjust …

A soft beanie slips over the small head of one who should not be hairless A needle plunges into the hip bone of one who should not know that kind of pain A single word scares one who should not yet know true fear Thoughts beyond this world float in …

EMLA is something I only heard about fairly recently, but I so wish I knew about it when I was going through chemo and having to have lots of needles. EMLA is a cream that is a local anesthetic that has been successfully used in UK for 25 years. The cream is available in …

What can I say about narcotics?  Doctors hold them close and virtually never let them go due to rampant usage as recreational drugs. They will try ANYTHING first – and as well they should, as it isn’t healthy to be on a narcotic diet for life. Back when I was …

I love meeting other childhood and young adult cancer survivors because my fellow cancer survivors really “get” me.  They have been through so many of the same things I have been through.  They truly understand all the challenges that come with being a long-term cancer survivor.  Most of all, their …

If you are ready to take responsibility for your circumstances, if you’re tired of being a victim, if you are willing to accept that making different choices is the only way you are going to receive different results, then you need to run, not walk, to the nearest book store …

Dealing with any disease is stressful and challenging. The doctors appointments, medications, and sick days are common fixtures in our lives. Unfortunately with endometriosis, surgery often happens more than once throughout a warrior’s lifetime with the disease. At this point, endometriosis can only be officially diagnosed through a diagnostic laparoscopy. …

Many people who suffer from not only Ankylosing Spondylitis, but also other autoimmune disorders are familiar with these four words. The problem with the question is that there is no simple answer. For me, my symptoms can change daily. For example, yesterday I couldn’t turn my neck, but today my …

How ironic is it that one of my favorite bands is Life of Agony? Never in a million years would I think I would end up living a life of agony. I am not just speaking of the physical pain, but of the emotional pain that goes along with suffering …