Going to the hospital can be an extremely stressful experience. Receiving surprise bills in the weeks, months or even years after said hospital stay is even more stressful. For those of us who see doctors regularly and often have hospital stays interspersed throughout the year, it can be overwhelming. First, let’s define surprise billing. Broadly … Continue reading Surprise Billing, Part I
What could have been done differently?
I ask people this question regularly. Why? When I was actively practicing, while it's good to solve a problem in the moment, it's also super important to create a system to avoid that issue in the future. Now, I ask this question of surviving spouses all the time, especially when their spouse has been murdered … Continue reading What could have been done differently?
Love and Metastatic Breast Cancer
This article was originally published in 2018 in Wildfire Magazine. You should do yourself a favor and get a subscription immediately!! I'm reproducing my article today, on the anniversary of my beloved husband's birth. At the time of my de novo metastatic diagnosis, my husband and I had been together for nearly 12 years and … Continue reading Love and Metastatic Breast Cancer
Medical Treatment during a Pandemic, Part I
Recently, in the middle of the current pandemic, I needed medical treatment on a weekend, of course! We’d avoided the need for some additional help as long as possible, availed ourselves of the telemedicine options, and did as much electronically as possible, but I just needed more. Even in this amazing age of technology, sometimes … Continue reading Medical Treatment during a Pandemic, Part I
Courtesy
Recently, I was sitting in a waiting room at my cancer center within the breast cancer clinic, which isn't the most pleasant of places, also I hate to wait, so I'm usually irritated just having to sit there. The room was full of women in various stages of treatment, many sporting the typical trappings of … Continue reading Courtesy
Entering in
I’ve written before about Holding Space for others, i.e., sitting with someone in crisis rather than trying to fix it or give advice, and the Ring Theory of how people in the epicenter of a crisis should be supported and never dumped on. This post could be considered part II of either post or maybe … Continue reading Entering in
Gossip
I hate gossip. Hate it with a passion. The definition of gossip I've relied upon is that if a person isn't part of a problem or the solution, then conversation with that person about someone else equals gossip. And gossip is incredibly damaging. I've lived my professional life understanding and living the confidentiality that I … Continue reading Gossip
Living Life Like You’re Dying
Those of us with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer are actively dying. Yet, death is not immediate. The median life expectancy is 2-3 years and I am meeting and hearing of more and more "outliers," those women who have lived far beyond the median and beyond. Until we know why there are outliers, the newly … Continue reading Living Life Like You’re Dying
Metabolic activity
As far as I understand it, increased metabolic activity creates higher SUV value on a PET scan. In more understandable terms, the places where there is more activity shows up brighter on the PET scan. Brighter images on the PET scan means the cancer has “woken up” or is starting to wake up; that the … Continue reading Metabolic activity
Cancer and corona
I’ve never reblogged an article written by someone else before, but Kit has put into words the frustration I’ve been feeling for a while about the hype surrounding the corona virus!👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻Warning this blog discusses secondary/metastatic/stage 4 breast cancer and the impact of living with a compromised immune system during the corona …Cancer and corona
No Half Measures 