Living

I remember hearing the chorus “I can’t feel my face when I’m with you” during my journey with cancer. Since my melanoma chose to take over my cheek, my dermatologist...

Homemade chocolate chip cookies...yum! Homemade ice cream...the best! Homemade apple pie...to die for! Homemade sunscreen? Evidently, it’s a thing, a thing I had not heard of until ten minutes ago...

(Spouses, partners, significant others, brothers, children, parents and friends of these men: this is for you) I will be honest. I don’t like seeing the doctor. I mean I don’t...

My first melanoma diagnosis required a wide local excision on the tip of my nose (6/12/2018). Sadly, the margins were not clear, so another surgery, as well as a sentinel...

Last week, we reviewed the sources of anxiety and insomnia in people with skin cancer. It’s important to identify these problems early when managing one’s overall health while treating skin...

A couple of months ago my daughter and I went on spring break to Cabo, and I was pretty proud of myself that I spent a week at the beach...

Some of my earliest memories involve children's books. I remember Dr. Seuss, Mark Twain's books, Grimm's Fairy Tales, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I remember the illustrations that thrilled...

The tube of ointment would have been in better shape if it had a cap that fit. I had been carrying it around the house, laid it down in a...

It’s really getting to me. I am struggling to describe the way I feel lately. Being able to label my feelings is important to me, and as much as I...

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that between a third and half of all cancer patients suffer from insomnia. Not only this, but when someone goes into cancer remission, their...

Last week, my spin instructor asked me if I could please wait after class so she could talk to me. As I stood there, dripping with sweat and needing to go...

I try to be environmentally conscious. I recycle. I try to turn off light when I leave a room. I try not to let the faucet run. I am “pro”...

I recently interviewed SkinCancer.net advocate Judy Cloud for the Health Union podcast, Living With. Judy has been living with skin cancer for over 20 years, and she talked to me...

Treatment for basal cell and squamous cell cancers can often include excising, or cutting out, the cancerous area. This sometimes leaves a patient with an area that may be heavily...

I recently saw a Facebook post from a friend. She mentioned that she had X number of weeks left to get a tan during spring break and I have to...

My skin cancer journey began when I discovered a tiny, little, brown spot on the tip of my nose. It was so tiny that I initially shrugged it off. Never...

It’s comforting to have an “Efudex buddy” who knows what I go through when I apply the chemotherapy cream to my skin. Sometimes, though skin cancer is no laughing matter...

I’m not sure what makes worry spike and then subside. It could be something I say to myself, or a few words that someone says to me, or just a...

Melanoma gives me anxiety. In my worst moments, when I am stressed by other things or when I am tired, it really taxes me. I know that people have it...

Once upon a time, there was a young girl who liked the burn--she craved it, in fact. This same young girl believed with the whole of her heart that her...