Do you believe in miracles? Cancer patients do, and do you want to hear a secret? It can be annoying. Don’t get me wrong: I indulge in magical thinking from time to time: we all do. But you can drive yourself well and truly mad: and some do. Most of the cancer patients who gather at Hopewell … [Read more...]

In the shower Friday morning, I found a lump. Women have lumps, I’ve been told many times. Everyone gets them. Lumps are common. Lumps are normal. Lumps are almost always benign. Yes, except: not my lumps. Every time I’ve found a lump in my breast it’s been cancerous. Every time. Two lumps. … [Read more...]

Tomorrow I will visit Hopkins’ main hospital, the city within the city, and check in for my “radiation simulation.” I don’t know what that is, but it sounds like something out of Star Trek. Because of this, I will not wear a red shirt to this appointment. I go to the main hospital only for … [Read more...]

I did not attend my regular Tuesday morning yoga class at Hopewell Cancer Center intending to disrupt class. When I go, I lurk in the back. I’m there to learn presence and stillness in a world, a situation, I can’t control. I’m also there to be around other people like me, people who are bald and … [Read more...]