Making lemonade
I have three wigs all of which have a distinctly different vibe. I might need to keep a log as to which wig I wear in front of which customers to avoid confusing them. As for my colleagues, they seem to be rolling with my endless costume changes. They understand that with the lemons I’ve been given, I’m just making a little lemonade.
My privilege is showing
I look at the overall survival rates of less than five years, and I think “Oh, I can beat that.” Then I pause to contemplate the inequities that makes that thought likely to be true.
Chemo: Round One
Mantle cell lymphoma is extremely rare, has a short remission cycle, and a median overall survival rate of four to five years. I’m undergoing an aggressive therapy known as the Nordic Regimen. After the first treatment, I felt like a failure.
Trading PAHs
Spending six months cleaning up the area around Kingsford was simply trading one exposure of PAHs for another. I don’t choose to see it that way.
Early Warning System
I can’t imagine finding the origin story for the mantle cell lymphoma that moves freely through my blood and bone marrow. That doesn’t stop my insatiable curiosity from trying.
That was then, this is now
Data for cancer rates in St. Louis Park only go back as far as 1988. What about those of us who moved away earlier?
Standing up in purple pants
At 24, I stood my ground while digging into PCB-contaminated soil.