Living with brain cancer
On Monday, May 4th, I received an email from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate Division that my thesis was accepted. I was on the edge of my seat holding back my burgeoning excitement. I assumed this was the email I had been waiting for since submitting my thesis a week ago to fulfill my final graduation requirement, …
As the new decade begins, I've reflected more on the meaning of courage as I embark on an enormous transition in my life.
This article was originally published in CURE Magazine. Click HERE to go to the publication. I am happy to share that I am now a regular contributor for CURE. This may mean that a lot of my writing (aside from medical updates) will get shared on CURE or another publication before landing on my blog. …
Last week I returned from Iowa City, Iowa where I attended the Examined Life conference. Little did I know that Iowa City is one of the only UNESCO City's of Literature in the world! The Iowa Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa pioneered the teaching of creative writing. Writers like Flannery O'Connor and John …
This year I am serving once again as a patient ambassador for EndWell. EndWell is an innovative symposium to transform the end-of-life into a more human-centered experience. My time with EndWell last year was transformational, and I look forward to participating in the conference again on December 5th. I recently wrote an article for the …
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 …
Honored to have my essay featured online and in today's print edition of the Washington Post, originally published in Pulse: voices from the heart of medicine. I wrote this essay before my recurrence, but it still captures the complexities of identity when faced with life-threatening illness. I would like to thank Diane Guernsey and Paul Gross from …
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.
