Reading Time: < 1 minute   Theresa shares her story at our 2024 Digital CancerCon Open Mic. The post Theresa appeared first on Stupid Cancer ..read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute   Savannah shares her story at our 2024 Digital CancerCon Open Mic. The post Savannah appeared first on Stupid Cancer ..read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute   Jewel shares her story at our 2024 Digital CancerCon Open Mic. The post Jewel appeared first on Stupid Cancer ..read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute   Erin shares her story at our 2024 Digital CancerCon Open Mic. The post Erin appeared first on Stupid Cancer ..read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute     Alexa shares her story at our 2024 Digital CancerCon Open Mic. The post Alexa appeared first on Stupid Cancer ..read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes Why? That’s the question in some form or another I have asked since December 6th, 2023. Getting diagnosed with cancer, let alone kidney cancer at the age of 32, wasn’t on my bingo card to start out 2024, but here we are. Here we are indeed. The group of misfits that range from the young to the old. However, being a “YA” brings with it a unique view. You’re old enough to just be able to see the horizon of your life before your eyes, but young enough to not want to see the end quite yet. What deck of cards were you dealt?   I have been told by many folks in the ..read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes As a stage 3A melanoma skin cancer survivor, I’ve learned valuable lessons about self-advocacy during my journey. Looking back, there are two critical points that underscore the importance of advocating for your own health. Childhood Trauma and Fear of Doctors My relationship with doctors and hospitals began early. Losing my father to multiple sclerosis (MS) when I was just 12 years old left a lasting impact. Hospitals, once places of hope, became triggers for anxiety. Consequently, I avoided checkups and family doctors out of fear. My young mind concluded that doctors ..read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute It was a day I’ll never forget, marking the one-year anniversary of my diagnosis with Polycythemia Vera, a day that seemed cursed with cruel symmetry. Pulmonary hypertension. The words hit me like a freight train, a second blow I never saw coming. Walking into the doctor’s office, I braced myself for bad news, but nothing prepared me for the emotional onslaught that followed. My mother who only has one leg, usually my rock, sat beside me, her face a mask of despair. Her distress only amplified my own confusion and disbelief. Despite her hysteria, I remained outwardl ..read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes When I was 19 years old, I was diagnosed with Type 2/Stage 2 Hodgkin Lymphoma on June 3, 2016. My life and health was about to take a 360 turn. I honestly never thought I would experience cancer being so young. I had so many plans, goals and dreams for my life that I wanted to pursue in my future.  My symptoms first began on April 24, 2016. My oncologist called us and asked if we wanted to meet in the hospital to talk about everything from my symptoms, biopsy, and PET scan; to be clear about my health and what was going on. So, my mom and I planned to meet them on ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes No chance I was expecting the words, “Nitya, these lesions in your abdomen seem like cancer masses,” when I went to the doctor for a stomach ache. Though I was sick on and off for the past 2 months, and I knew deep inside that something was wrong, this wasn’t the news I was foreseeing. For a person like me who likes to plan everything in her life, this wouldn’t have been on my list for another 500 years. Yet, here I am, talking about my cancer journey 10 months later. I took a quick look outside of the window. It was an ordinary Wednesday morning and the world out there ..read more