Living with brain cancer
Posts related to undergoing treatment for brain cancer
I never thought I would make it to my 30th birthday, but here I am! I don’t mean for this to be a grandiose statement, it’s simply fact. Over the past 18 years since I was diagnosed at the age of 12, I have gone through my first diagnosis followed by surgery, months in the …
Continue reading "On Turning 30 Years Old: Living a life guided by my values"
Yesterday I started my first day of work, and today my MRI is stable! A great start to the week. Going into today’s appointments, I was worried. My concern didn’t stem from any physical symptoms, but the fact that there was so much good going on in my life (despite COVID-19): Graduating with my masters, …
As the new decade begins, I've reflected more on the meaning of courage as I embark on an enormous transition in my life.
It has been a while since I last posted on my blog. At the beginning of the fall I started experimenting with Instagram to show my day to day life of living with brain cancer. You can follow my profile and check it out HERE. Also, this fall semester I have been balancing the fatigue …
A little more than one month ago, May 22nd, was my one-year anniversary since my brain surgery in 2018. It was the day I laid on the operating table, awake, as surgeons mapped out my brain's motor function and removed a section of my tumor. Since I was twelve years old, I’ve had several of these “anniversaries:”
I’m sick of being sick. I’m sick of laying on the couch. I’m sick of having to cancel plans I made months, weeks, or days in advance from grabbing a cup of coffee to going on spring break vacation. I’m sick of feeling good for a day or two, thinking I’m on the mend, only to realize I was being tricked. I’m sick of my doctors and I knowing what my symptoms are, but not knowing why. I’m sick of not knowing when I’ll feel better for a sustained amount of time.
I apologize that it has been almost two months since my last blog post. For many this online silence translated to concern for my well-being, and I am sorry that I made people worry. I haven’t written a post recently for several reasons. First, I wanted to spend the Holidays and my winter vacation focused …
Yesterday, my partner and I returned from a much-needed, relaxing trip to Oahu. We had an amazing time. Even though my hair started to fall out from my radiation treatments, my ever-present medical condition momentarily faded away. We slept...a lot; We rested at the pool, the beach, and back at the pool; We coasted around …
September 25th, 11am: I sat in my doctor's office at UCSF waiting for the results of my MRI. I've been in this same office numerous times with a picture of mountains hanging on its sterile white walls. Even as a medical student, I wonder why we design doctors' offices this way. If you're going to make it all white, keep it all white without putting up a picture of a place patients would rather be. Otherwise, and preferably, make the room more warm, welcoming...human.
Thank you all for the support after my last post about the rough start to treatment. I appreciate all the messages as well as food that has now filled my fridge! I've realized this has become the primary means most people receive updates regarding how I am feeling. After seeing a lot of people this …
