As the new decade begins, I've reflected more on the meaning of courage as I embark on an enormous transition in my life.
CURE Voices: When Living With Serious Illness, What is Considered Courageous?
CURE Contributor: When Living with Brain Cancer, Life Doesn’t Always Go as Planned
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. …
The Examined Life Conference
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 …
2019 EndWell ePatient Ambassador
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 …
Sick of Being Sick
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.
Good News is Sometimes Hard to Share
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 …
End Well 2018: Talking about what it means to end well helps us all to live well
Essay Featured in the Washington Post – Please support NBTS so that more stories can be heard!
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 …
Changing Course
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.
In Thinking About my Death, I Discovered How I Truly Wish to Live
For months, I had two task reminders saved to my computer’s desktop. The note on the left side of the screen listed the assignments I still had to complete for school. The note on the right side of the screen read: “Fill out advance directive.” These notes were a daily reminder of my conflicting identities. The left-side version of me: a 26-year-old medical student with many opportunities ahead; the right-side version of me: a young adult living with terminal brain cancer.
