Definition of Slippery Slope
Figuratively speaking, of course. That definition being: a late stage cancer patient/survivor previously characterized as “terminal” awaiting the results of their most recent diagnostic scan. A scan...
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Not My Mom
Janet Hollands was originally diagnosed with lung cancer of two etiologies in August of 2011. She had a lobectomy, stereotactic radiation and chemotherapy. At that time her 15 yr old daughter wrote a...
View ArticleE-Male
My oncologist is a man. He has e-mail. He works for an HMO that encourages/advertises its connectivity and responsiveness – electronically, to its members. If I want to get medical answers in a...
View ArticleJust Wondering
Having never attended medical school (and not really having had the grades or commitment to do so), and having only completed 10th grade biology and freshman year astronomy, and rarely even driven by a...
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Survival Should Not Be An Accident
Hildy Grossman wasn’t always an empowered cancer survivor. The psychologist and singer was accidentally diagnosed over six and a half years ago after injuring her wrist and elbow in a fall. She...
View ArticleA Fluid Situation
I don’t mean to be the least bit paranoid, but I suppose that’s because, as a stage IV non-small cell lung cancer “diagnosee,” I’m already the most bit paranoid. A terminal diagnosis of incurable...
View Article14.8 Percent
That is the percentage of diagnosed lung cancer patients who survive beyond five years, according to The National Cancer Institute’s SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2009, in a graph published in...
View ArticleAiring on the Side of Caution
As a non-small cell lung cancer survivor, stage IV, 52 months post -diagnosis, I am no longer living within the margins, I am living outside of them. Therefore, since trouble has already found me, I am...
View ArticleFull Circle
I hope it’s not a wrap though. I’d like to continue rolling along just like I rolled into college in late August, 1972, matriculating to the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland....
View ArticleNo Shame in Crying
Nor is it a crying shame. But something has changed, dare I say affected my tear duct production. I can’t say with certainty – or even specify a particular moment in time for sure – when the tears...
View ArticleFrom Gumdrop and Lollipop Land to Opryland; Living with Lung Cancer
For me, Gumdrop and Lollipop Land is Camp, in Culver Indiana. Culver is where I went to overnight camp as a child, where I worked in the summers during college, where three of my kids go to camp now,...
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Depression in Lung Cancer Patients
It’s normal for someone diagnosed with cancer to experience feelings of sadness, fear, anger and grief. It’s when those feelings prevent you from functioning in your everyday life and you feel...
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Exercise for Lung Cancer Survivors
“I have lung cancer and you want me to what?” Exercise. American Cancer Society recommends that cancer survivors return to normal daily activities as soon as possible after their cancer diagnosis,...
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In the Midst of Chaos, Life is Good!
The questions just kept coming. You already have a dog, are you nuts? Don’t you have enough going on? Things are calm right now, why add chaos and stress to your world? Those are just a few responses I...
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Bringing it Home
Jose Rodriguez had a routine CT scan on a Friday. He received a call about it just two days later. They thought they saw a small tumor on his scan. Since he had had no symptoms, he was blindsided by...
View ArticleA Peculiar Existence
I’m not exactly pretending that I don’t have stage IV lung cancer (non-small cell, to be specific), but ever since my hospital admission on August 2nd, I have been treatment-free; no I.V. chemotherapy,...
View ArticleA Study In Contrasts
The decision for yours truly to participate in a Phase 1 Study at N.I.H. or Johns Hopkins (depending upon availability and qualifications) discussed in last week’s column has been put on hold,...
View ArticlePassion into Action ~ Sharing My Story
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” ~Maya Angelou November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. On the heels of a very pink October, it’s a tough act to follow, even...
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Missing White Ribbons
The Missing White Ribbons…..The Silent Battle by Maureen Costello-Estberg RN CNM When an army is ”snuffed out” before they ever get a chance to start to fight ~ no one may ever know there is a war...
View Article“Mor-Tality” or Less
Meaning, in my head anyway, the future and what there is left of it. More specifically, I mean life expectancy. When you’re given a “13-month to two-year” prognosis—at age 54 and a half, by a cancer...
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