August 2022 Vol 8 No 4

Susie Sanchez remained calm on the outside after receiving her anal cancer diagnosis, but inside she was terrified, dealing with radiation therapy plus chemotherapy. She is now on a mission to tell people about the benefits of the HPV vaccine, which prevents anal cancer but wasn’t available to her when she was growing up.

Joe Bullock finally heard the 3 little letters he’d been waiting to hear since his colorectal cancer diagnosis: NED. But he wasn’t expecting the uncertainty that shortly followed, feeling stuck in the in-between phase “after cancer.”

After being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer at age 30, Elizabeth McSpadden was shocked by the lack of appropriate norms to address fertility and other relevant issues in young women with cancer.

Vianela Ramery’s poem celebrates her 12-year experience as a patient navigator helping to coordinate cancer screenings for patients and acting as their support system.

In her book Moving Through Cancer: An Exercise and Strength-Training Program for the Fight of Your Life, Dr. Kathryn Schmitz explains the importance of exercise during and after cancer, offering a step-by-step plan of action to help survivors heal their bodies and souls.

When singer-songwriter Josh Colow started losing weight, feeling nauseous, and had a fever that wouldn’t go away, the last thing on his mind was lung cancer. Find out how his devastating diagnosis changed his attitude and perspective.

Nurse navigator Amy Velasquez examines the difficulties oncology nurses face when assessing their patients’ emotions and non-verbal cues in the age of COVID-19 and mask wearing.

While writing about her experience grieving for her husband, Joyce Karney notes the lasting impact of memories, quoting the poet Robert Frost: “In 3 words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.”

After losing her mom to stage IV squamous-cell carcinoma, Kerry Cooke is now focusing on helping other patients with cancer, explaining the benefits of CureMatch, a new artificial intelligence technology that can determine the best treatment for individual patients with cancer.