A couple of weeks ago at a Death Cafe, people talked about whether they were afraid of death and what it meant to live without that fear. I've been thinking about things people said. Keep in mind it's a room full of strangers trying to voice thoughtful perspectives on big questions in a short amount …
Have you seen a New Yorker article about the horrors of the birthday week? The author takes exception to people who celebrate their birthday for more than one day. It's narcissistic and self-obsessed. It's childish. Reading the article and several of the comments made me wonder about how some of us seem to live in …
On a lovely October morning in 2012, I was sitting on my patio looking forward to a day of writing and drinking coffee. My phone rang. It was my doctor's office. I almost didn't bother to answer. What did they want? I didn't have an appointment to confirm. But I answered and the woman on …
My hair is growing back. It's a little more than two inches in length. Everyone says nice things about it, of course. I hate it. I'm happy it is growing back, but I can't wait for it to be longer. When does our hair become important to us? My son was almost two before we …
2013 nears death. Not that our calendar rules the world, but it is the way I measure time thanks to happenstance of birth. Death was nagged at me a great deal this year. A cancer diagnosis and a heart condition will remind anyone of mortality. I feel lucky to be alive. How old were you …
The year is approaching its close. January 1, 2013 I met with a surgeon. I didn't have a cancer diagnosis yet. In fact, the surgeon said that with my case history and profile, I had less than an 8% chance of having anything cancerous. Five surgeries and months of chemo later, I am not officially …
Recovering from surgery seems like a good time to blog again. But after I recover from this surgery, I'll start taking Tamoxifen and that should be it. Except for checkups every three months (until I graduate to every six months and then to once a year), all this cancer stuff should be behind me. I'm …
Today I finished chemo. One surgery remains. The toxins will leave my body, my hair will grow back, and I'll get to call myself a survivor. But aren't we all survivors if we make it to another day? I don't know, but I find survivor a strange thing to call myself. Many people are kind …
October promises many things. Let's hope October keeps such promises. The first Friday of October will be my last day of chemo. Thank the stars. I've had fewer side-effects than many. I'm lucky. This has been week ten of Taxel. The nurse told me that the 10th week is the most common week for neuropathy …
On Fridays I sit in the infusion room and get my chemo cocktail. You'd think, stuck in a cushy chair attached to tubes that I could use that time to write something interesting. I sit here for about four hours. Surely I could do something useful. Most of the time though my mind wanders and …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 