Coping with Cancer

CANCER, SURVIVOR SARCOMA by Terry Healey My surgical team saved my right eye. For that, I had incredible gratitude. I awoke from an 11-hour surgery at University of California, San Francisco to find that my surgeon had removed not only half of my nose but also half of my upper lip, muscle and bone from my right cheek, the shelf of my right eye, six teeth, and part of my hard palate. I was attached to my chest with a delto-pectoral flap because so much tissue had been removed from my face.

CANCER, SIDE EFFECTS, UNDERSTANDING CANCER BREAST CANCER by Berfin Mahmut, PT, DPT, CLT-LANA, OnCS Breast swelling is a common experience for many breast cancer survivors, though it isn’t always talked about openly. It happens when fluid builds up in the breast and is most often related to treatments such as lymph node removal and radiation therapy, especially when the remaining lymph nodes are included in the radiation field.

Nancy Groves by Nancy Groves, MSW When my mother was diagnosed with cancer in her eighties, I believed I was prepared for the journey ahead. Years of working with cancer patients had made the path feel familiar. I knew our daily life would shift to accommodate caregiving, doctor visits, and treatments. What I did not expect was that her illness would open a door we had kept closed for most of our lives—a door leading back to a truth I had carried quietly since childhood.

CANCER, CAREGIVER, SURVIVOR by Lynn H. Aspey, MS My friend just called and told me she has cancer. I am stunned and speechless, but I will be by her side however she needs me. I need to ask her how I can help and in what ways she needs me. My friend had suggestions on how I could help and what would be meaningful to her. Here are thoughts she shared: Sometimes I am not ready to share, and it is not because I don’t want you to have the information; it’s because I am not able to share now.

Shawna Majerus and her son by Shawna Majerus The casseroles eventually stop coming. The text messages slow down. People return to their busy lives. I’m a six-time cancer survivor. I’m also the mother of a kiddo who rocked leukemia. Cancer has been part of the architecture of my life for a long time now. Not just once, not just a chapter, but something that has returned often enough that I’ve had to get very honest about what it means to keep living.

CANCER, SIDE EFFECTS, UNDERSTANDING CANCER by Berfin Mahmut, PT, DPT, CLT-LANA, OnCS If you’ve undergone breast cancer treatment and are experiencing chest tightness, you are not alone. Tightness across the chest is one of the most common side effects following breast cancer surgery, radiation, and reconstructive procedures due to their direct impact on the tissues of the chest wall. In many cases, this tightness begins after surgery.

On Sunday, June 7, 2026, communities will unite for the 39th annual National Cancer Survivors Day® – a Celebration of Life honoring anyone living with a history of cancer and encouraging everyone to help lessen the challenges faced by cancer survivors. Chances are, you know someone who has survived cancer. In the U.S. alone, one out of every three people is expected to receive a cancer diagnosis during their lifetime. Currently, about 18.6 million Americans are living as cancer survivors.

CANCER, SURVIVOR BREAST CANCER Lauren Caggiano by Lauren Caggiano My life Before Cancer (“BC” for short) seems like decades ago and just yesterday at the same time. My world forever changed in late summer 2021, at age 37, when I found the lump. I wish I could tell you I was doing the recommended breast self-exams regularly. Instead, the winning combination of ADHD and clumsiness saved my life. I was running late and hurrying to get out the door when I bumped into the bathroom door frame.

CANCER, SURVIVOR BLOOD AND BONE MARROW CANCER, LYMPHOMA, MANTLE CELL LYMPHOMA Linda Trummer by Linda Trummer Today I am planning—and by “planning” I mean “thinking about maybe considering it”—to clean out my emotional hoard. Not the cute stuff. Not the “aw, look, a memory” stuff. I mean the radioactive vault where I store the feelings I don’t have the energy to process before breakfast. Fear of cancer returning that I keep trying to shove into a decorative basket like it’s a throw pillow.

By Berfin Mahmut, PT, DPT, CLT-LANA, OnCS Scar tissue is a normal and expected part of the body’s healing process after surgery or injury. When the skin heals from a cut, burn, sore, or surgical incision, the body forms fibrous tissue to repair and protect the area. This tissue becomes what we know as a scar. While scars are a natural part of healing, excessive or untreated scar tissue can sometimes lead to discomfort, including pain, tenderness, sensitivity, or itching around the scar.