Twas' the night of my first chemo to treat lung cancer (non-small cell) and I was all hopped up on steroids. Impulsively, I booked a bucket list trip abroad for a Tori Amos concert.
I've lost my hair rendering me bald, not once but, twice in my lifetime.Pictures document my hair loss and gain over the years.
During the recent Texas power outage & winter storm, I thought I might have lung cancer. Doctors found a mass on my lung. Yesterday, I learned that the mass is benign. I'm still going through testing and figuring out my treatment because a benign mass on my lung remains an issue, but at least it's … Continue reading Lung Cancer Scare & Texas Power Outage 😭❄🚫🔌🚱
I originally wrote this 4 years ago in November 2016 as a Facebook post. Trump had just been elected and I was 9 months post heart transplant and experiencing a series of setbacks: back to living 3 hours away from home, so that I could be near the transplant hospital, healing from a Grand Mal … Continue reading Setbacks After Heart Transplant 🙄 & Seeking Joy 💗 (Originally Published in November 2016).
As a heart transplant recipient and cancer survivor, I have experienced intense physical pain and prolonged mental anguish. I have a few tricks I use to endure pain and I will share them with you. I hope it brings you some measure of relief.
Life after a heart transplant has a new set of unique challenges.
I am often asked, “where we’re you when you got the call for transplant?” For months I was vigilant, perhaps hyper-vigilant with answering my phone. Nothing would prevent me from picking up an “unknown” call, not even the sacred space of the movie theater was going to cause me to miss the call for a … Continue reading Getting the Call: Heart Transplant & Uber
Read about Jennifer's unbelievable journey that started in 1991 at age 14. Jennifer has overcome three different cancers: bone, breast and lung (all years apart and distinct). Ultimately, chemo as a teenager resulted in a heart transplant. Transplant was an intense journey, as Jennifer's mother also had ovarian cancer at the same time. Jennifer's mother lost her battle and died while Jennifer was recovering from breast cancer surgery. At times life felt unbearable for Jennifer. Now at age 45 in 2022, this difficult journey continues with blood clots and organ rejection.
This post is Jennifer's story.
During my first bout of cancer, I was a horrible, rotten no good teenager. This is one tale of my defiance during a Chemo treatment. Now at 42 years old, I reflect on this time with raucous laughter and embarrassment.
A New Heart Rocks 