It has been awhile since I have written but there has been a lot going on. My beloved Aunt in Ireland died, and I’ve been having some additional health problems. When the last of my grandparents passed away many years ago, I didn’t fully comprehend what my father meant or…

You are probably not at all surprised that people don’t like to talk about death. I am fine with it, always have been. Perhaps it is because in my regular conversations with my elderly aunt, she would consistently harken back to the untimely death of every family member. Try as…

Well, I got my test results back just before my every-3-month booster and they were encouraging. What had been in the normal range stayed there and the markers of my cancer continue to decrease, one from 9.2 to 2.8. But, what do they mean? As I explained before, anyone with…

I have explained before the importance of being an active participant in maintaining well-being. For me, this includes daily walks with my pups, yoga, and meditation (as well as healthy eating and rest). …

Reminiscing about the past is inevitable, especially if a person is facing a terminal illness. In doing so, we look at decisions made and things done, as well as the reasons for them. Something I was consistently struck with during my many years of practice was what I called the…

Memories…do we have anyone else left to share them with? As we age, those who share our memories (actually experiencing them with us) are lost to us with time. As I mentioned, I lost my last surviving elderly relative, my Auntie who died at age 97 the same week I…

I’m going to talk about Dr. Irving Yalom’s theory about fear of death, which he believed was the seat of much of people’s anxiety. He asserted that this fear was most likely aroused when people experience a loss such as a divorce, the death of a loved one, illness, a…

Now I am going to put on my clinician hat, as well as my personal one, as we discuss theories about death and dying. The most popular one, developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross described 5 Stages of Grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. This model has been adapted and applied…

As I await beginning my every-3-month “booster” chemo, there is, of course the worry and trepidation about how well my bloodwork fares relative to before. Has it remained on the upswing or have I deteriorated since…? My oncologist assured me that it will continue to improve with each additional “booster”…