El Camino de Santiago is a collection of routes throughout Europe that pilgrims have been walking for centuries. All the trails lead to the 800-year-old cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, which holds the remains of the apostle, Saint James. In 2012, I completed the first 200 miles of El Camino de Santiago’s 500-mile French […]
My husband looked at me and said, “I need you to teach me how to fix her hair.” It was December of 2010, and we were sitting in an oncology office after hearing the news that I had stage IV melanoma. Cancer. Not just a little bit of cancer, but a lot. No one had […]
I deliberately tie the hospital gown two ways, left over right, right over left to see which best covers my mastectomy scar before exiting the changing room. As I open the door, my prosthetic breast falls out of the bra’s mesh pouch in the plastic bag provided for my belongings. I don’t want anyone to […]
Isn’t it interesting how one remembers the date? Mine was Jan. 11, 2011. I hadn’t been feeling well for a few months, and a lymph node in my neck was continually swelling. On that date, however, I had a CT scan for a suspected kidney stone. My doctor called with the results. When I answered […]
In the summer of 2013, my 39-year-old husband, Todd Jackson, our 4-month-old daughter, Allie, and I were living the life we had dreamed of and worked hard to achieve, when our bliss was interrupted by Todd’s strange speech symptoms. Brain surgery and a diagnosis of glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, followed over […]
My name is Wade Hayes. I am a singer/songwriter/ musician here in Nashville. I can now add colon cancer survivor to my resume. I started this journey back in 2011. I had been experiencing symptoms for a few years such as minor bleeding and lethargy. I attributed my symptoms to heavy weightlifting and a hectic and […]
M y cancer story is not unique, not special in any way. But telling my story is a form of therapy for me—a way to exorcise some of the less pleasant details of an unexpected journey and exalt some important things I learned along the way.
As a sports-crazy 14-year-old, Matt Bulow had his leg amputated below the knee. After Paralympics bronze medals and a world record in long jump, he is now helping others reach their mobility goals as a prosthetist.
The phrase “breast cancer” has been part of my lexicon for as far back as I can remember. As a young child, I heard the phrase when my mom told stories about my great-grandmother. I remember hearing that Mama Jacobs “nursed with only one breast.” I gleaned from the adults around me that “nursing with […]
When Terri Seale’s 17-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia last year, Terri decided to share all the successes and setbacks along Natalie’s road to healing in an online journal.
