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essays

Sometimes, putting thoughts on paper makes everything clearer. Our survivors and supporters share their thoughts. 

essays
(Y)our essays
ARLENE KAROLE BACK TO BASICS
(Y)our Stories
Back to Basics

Arlene Karole’s career in educating educators served her well during her breast cancer diagnosis.

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gen z and cancer
(Y)our Stories
Gen Z & the Big C

It can be difficult to be taken seriously as a young person. But as cancer rates continue growing in younger demographics, warriors like 21 year old Manar Kashk stress the importance of advocating for yourself and listening to your body when it comes to your health.

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CAREGIVER
(Y)our Stories
Take Care

As if a cancer diagnosis weren’t hard enough, caregiving can come at its own cost. Serena Hu shares her experience caregiving for her late father.

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Mothers cancer journey
Breast Cancer
A Delicate Dance

My mother’s cancer journey can teach others to trust Black women fighting for their health—and their lives.

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TRACEE COLE
(Y)our Stories
#FighterFriday: Tracee Cole

Breast cancer thriver Tracee Cole shares her experience of being diagnosed with stage II triple-positive breast cancer a mere month before COVID-19 shut the world down.

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RHONDA MECKSTROTH
(Y)our Stories
Learning to Live

Rhonda Meckstroth knows all too well how important it is to receive a second opinion—it saved her husband Jeff during his unexpected lung cancer diagnosis in their small rural Ohio community. Now they’re fighting for other families to have the same second shot at life.

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MR-LINAC
Complementary Medicine
An Alternate Route

After seeing the effects that invasive treatment had on warriors close to him, Michael Justiz knew there had to be another way when faced with his own prostate cancer diagnosis. He took a gamble on a new technology—and it paid off.

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RUNNING WITH CANCER
Breast Cancer
Running With Cancer

Part-time certified fitness instructor Jennifer Sinkwitts was slated to run the Boston Marathon after an impressive qualifying time—then she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She decided to run anyway.

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CYNTHIA HAYES
(Y)our Stories
Timing is Everything

It’s easy to delay or avoid routine screenings. But Cynthia Hayes knows all too well that these pesky appointments can be life-saving.

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MICHELLE PATIDAR
(Y)our Stories
My Mother’s Message

After caring for her mother during her battle with stage IV stomach cancer, Michelle Patidar trusted her instincts when a dream-state visit from her mother warned her about her own health.

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PLAN OF CARE
(Y)our Stories
Shaken, but Not Stirred

A plan of care is important after a diagnosis, but even more important is making your voice heard during the process so you can receive the care that’s right for you.

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KAMELIA BRITTON CANCER
(Y)our Stories
Paying it Forward

When blogger Kamelia Britton was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, she struggled to share her story with thousands of followers and find a sense of purpose. A stranger’s small act of kindness helped her do both.

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BRANDI BENSON EWING SARCOMA.jpg
(Y)our Stories
Learning to Love a New Me

After undergoing treatment for Ewing Sarcoma cancer, veteran Brandi Benson was left with a 24-inch scar that tested and taught her to how to love and embrace her new self.

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BILL THOMPSON BLADDER CANCER
(Y)our Stories
#FighterFriday: A Partnership of Healing

Bill Thompson thought he was in peak health, until a series of unexplainable symptoms led to his final diagnosis—stage IV bladder cancer. Fighting for his life was equal parts a physical, mental and medical battle.

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FERTILITY AFTER CANCER
(Y)our Stories
Navigating Fertility After Cancer

The turmoil of blogger Anna Crollman’s cancer diagnosis at 27 was amplified when she learned treatment could lead to loss of fertility. Her path to pregnancy wasn’t easy, but it evolved into a beautiful testimony of strength.

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BRANDI BENSON
(Y)our Stories
Becoming the Miracle

Brandi Benson went overseas to fight for her country, but she ended up fighting another battle within herself—cancer.

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SURVIVORSHIP
(Y)our Stories
The Game of Survivorship

In waiting for No Evidence of Disease, Ana Reyes says cancer survivorship is much like a board game—full of false starts, great luck, and a lot of waiting.

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KELSEY BUCCI BREAST CANCER
(Y)our Stories
Finding Beauty Through the Battle

As a military wife, Kelsey Bucci is well versed in leaning into the unknown, and her unexpected breast cancer diagnosis was no exception. Through takeaways from her own fight, she’s now helping warriors everywhere feel beautiful and safe.

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CHRISTINA VACCACIO CANCER
(Y)our Stories
Living Out Loud

A cancer journey is deeply personal, but two-time warrior Christina Vaccacio chose to look outward and uplift others through sharing her story. It ended up impacting her own life in ways she never expected.

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SYDNEY ROZYCKI
(Y)our Stories
Life … To Be Continued

At 23 years old, engineer Sydney Rozycki was on the cusp of young adult life when she received an unexpected breast cancer diagnosis. But she never saw it as being the end of her story—only a continuation.

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SOFIA REINO
(Y)our Stories
Cancer, COVID-19 and Me

Sofia Reino, a two-time cancer survivor, says the trials and tribulations of life in active treatment makes cancer warriors and survivors particularly prepared for difficult situations—including a pandemic.

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LEA GUCCIONE
(Y)our Stories
A Radically Human Experience

Diagnosed with lymphoma like her father, Lea Guccione turned her cancer diagnosis into a powerful opportunity to find joy in the strangest moments.

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MELINDA GEORGE
Breast Cancer
Poems by Melinda George

First, her sister-in-law was diagnosed with metastatic cancer. Then her father. Supporter Melinda George shares two poems in reflection of the shock of those diagnoses and her love for her family.

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CANCER YOGA
(Y)our Stories
The Choice is Yours

You can’t control a cancer diagnosis, but you can control how you react to it. In her latest column, Jessica Walker talks about how to focus on the aspects of your life you can control amidst the uncertainty of a cancer diagnosis.

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KATHLEEN BROWN
(Y)our Stories
Twenty-Four Years of Reflection

After a near-death experience following an unexpected cancer diagnosis, Kathleen Brown reflects on the past 24 years of survivorship to appreciate the hidden gifts of her cancer journey.

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JESSICA WALKER
Coping Strategies & Techniques
Advice for the Road Ahead

In her latest column, Jessica Walker offers five tips for the newly diagnosed who may feel completely overwhelmed about the journey before them.

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TOMMY WALKER CANCER
Essays
In Between the Tough Stuff

As newlyweds, Jessica Walker and her husband Tommy were blindsided by Tommy’s cancer diagnosis, but through treatments and recurrences, Jessica learned cancer doesn’t have to control their whole story.

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MUSIC AS MEDICINE
Breast Cancer
Music as Medicine

G.P. Gottlieb has always loved music—this was something her cancer couldn’t defeat. And after treatment, she found a way to share the joy of music with other cancer warriors.

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The Heart of an Evolver

During her three cancer diagnoses, Tameka Johnson was flooded with harsh emotions—pain, anger, fear, frustration—but found her respite in writing, in loving her daughter, and living life “on purpose.”

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CAREGIVER
Essays
A Caregiver’s Refrain

Kandis Draw was devastated after her mother’s cancer diagnosis, and after years of caregiving, she realized how important it was to spend just as much time caring for herself.

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JESSICA WALKER
Essays
The Middle of the Storm

After running herself ragged, trying to be the “perfect” caregiver, Jessica Walker realized she was not only doing herself a disservice, but her husband, too.

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SOPHIE CANCER JOURNEY
(Y)our Stories
Somebody That I Used to Know

At just 30 years old, Sophie has been in remission from cancer for 23 years, but the trauma of surviving childhood cancer can’t be ignored, despite Sophie’s best efforts to stifle the memories.

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CANCER TATTOO
(Y)our Stories
An Indelible Mark

Wendy Santana often felt fear, isolation, and anxiety during treatment and recovery for brain cancer, but a new tattoo sparked conversations in the hospital room that revived her spirit.

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JESSICA WALKER
Essays
The Unchecked Boxes

Eager to get back to her old life, cW columnist Jessica Walker comes to terms with the fact that life is rarely the same post-cancer.

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I LOVE LONDON
(Y)our Stories
The Art of Slowing Down

When cW columnist Jessica Walker went on an overseas excursion with her husband after his cancer diagnosis, she learned the small moments of joy are just as momentous as those that seem larger than life.

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TURN OF EVENTS
(Y)our Stories
A Swift Turn of Events

Everything was going right for William Yank, until he fell ill with an innocuous sore throat. The diagnosis? Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. But in the months following treatment and remission, he learned that the true purpose of his life was just beginning.

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Essays
In Sickness and in Health

Honeymoon Wife, Newlywed Wife, Cancer Wife. Debut Cancer Wellness monthly columnist Jessica Walker shares what she felt when she took on all three roles at once.

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Clean Beauty
The Way I See Her Now

When cancer waylays her grandmother’s self-care routine, Ashley Jones learns a new way to express her love and appreciation.

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JAMIE SHELTON CANCER
(Y)our Stories
Whether I Want it to or Not

When Jamie found a lump in her breast, doctors told her it was nothing to worry about, but she trusted her instincts and got a second opinion. When she was eventually diagnosed with breast cancer, Jamie truly understood the importance of patients advocating for themselves.

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RESILIENT
Breast Cancer
Resilient. Period.

After years of strained relationships and compounded stress, Jeri Walker’s breast cancer diagnosis helped usher in a new life of joy, creativity, and personal growth.

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CELLULAR SERIES
Essays
Reads on the Unspeakable

In his second essay for Cancer Wellness about his mother’s last days, Robert G. Margolis writes, “No one, I felt, is ever done doing what they want to do in their life, even after their life is done.”

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CELLULAR SERIES
(Y)our Stories
BRCA: The Waiting Game

Most 10-year-olds find out how to make volcanoes in science class; I figured out boobs were just as sensitive and explosive.

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