Cancer & Mental Health
How Comparing Pain Multiplies Suffering
She wanted to talk to me about cancer, but she hesitated. She was worried because she thought her cancer wasn’t as bad as mine. When I finally realized the reason for the hesitation, for the trepidation in her voice, my heart dropped. She had just apologized because she thought her cancer wasn’t bad enough. No […]
Living with Dying: Thoughts on friendship and cancer
I get by with a little help from my friends
Lisa Bonchek Adams
It has been almost exactly 5 years since my world was turned upside down with the words “It’s cancer.” In those years, there have been many things that sustained me: my family, my friends. I know I’ve written extensively about how my girls in YSC have held me up and helped me keep it together. […]
Teaching Your Kids to Deal with Disappointment
I know that one of my jobs as a parent is to teach her how to deal with disappointment – but not like this; this isn’t what I had in mind. We should be working on learning how to gracefully accept that she gets what she gets for dinner, and not necessarily a doughnut. We […]
Cancer showed up with surprises: Sonya Davis’ Story
Sonya Davis shares her experience as a breast cancer survivor, and as the child of a breast cancer survivor.
When Gratitude is Difficult
There have been times, oh so many times, when the thought of compiling a list of things for which to be grateful was a little more than I could bear. Those are moments when gratitude is difficult.
Remembering Candice
We talked about how difficult it is to describe Candice, and have people really understand just how awesome she was, or how deeply her absence is felt, about the urge to insist, “But you don’t understand! This was CANDICE!” Of course people didn’t understand, unless they’d met her. You only had to meet her once to really get it.
How you can help young women living with breast cancer
I learned the hard way that the financial implications of cancer extend well beyond just the cost of medical care. It’s a far too frequent story where jobs are lost, or the hours worked drop below the minimum to maintain health insurance – or pay the rent. The cost of babysitters alone could bankrupt a […]
Living is practicing the art of change management
The best parts of my life came about through change, as did the worst. I’ve been thinking about my attraction/repulsion response to change – sometimes both sensations at the same time in regards to the same issue.