Today is National Cancer Survivors Day and its my 4th celebrating as a cancer survivor. In the grand scheme of things, I suppose I’m still relatively new at this, but I feel like a veteran with the massive amount of spiritual and emotional growth I’ve gone through since my diagnosis. Its funny how time canContinue reading “What Does it Mean to Be a Survivor?”
Author Archives: Stef G.
Reminiscing on Death
It’s an odd feeling to look back at myself 4 years ago, just a few months shy of my first Rebirthday, and remember how hard the Summer months used to hit. The sounds of the crickets and the spring peepers would churn up a dark feeling of dread in the depths of my gut. InContinue reading “Reminiscing on Death”
Body-ody-ody
Does anyone else get a song stuck in their head and then have it there the entirety of writing their blog post? No? Just me? Ok then. . . I posed a question yesterday for the members of my survivorship Facebook group, and I thought I’d answer it here because I have lots to sayContinue reading “Body-ody-ody”
Do The Big, Scary Things
A few months ago I submitted my story for my university’s inaugural Nurse Story Slam. The theme was “Finding Joy Through Adversity” and I thought well, hell. I know a thing or two about this… However, I didn’t think I’d honestly be chosen to tell my story. I mean, lots of nurses have amazing storiesContinue reading “Do The Big, Scary Things”
Permission to Live
Today I attended the beautiful, heart-breaking funeral of a fellow young adult with cancer. I don’t know what to write, because everything I put down sounds selfish to me. But, I guess that’s the nature of Survivor’s Guilt. So. . . I guess I’ll try to write without overthinking how it sounds and just letContinue reading “Permission to Live”
All I Want
Sometimes I feel like a ghost screaming at the real world, longing to be heard. All I want is for one person to turn around and see me, to acknowledge my effort in just being, And say “I hear you. I see you. You are real to me.” Sometimes I feel like a hamster onContinue reading “All I Want”
Rebirth
I’ve spent almost the last 3 years mourning my old self, lamenting the past. I think a lot of people do this, whether or not they’ve faced cancer or another life-altering trauma. I believe it’s a form of anxious attachment to perceived comfort and stability; we feel safe in the known, even if the knownContinue reading “Rebirth”
Superhero Status Achieved
Since my diagnosis first with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (a genetic degenerative neuromuscular disease) and then with tongue cancer (also a genetic thing), I’ve often joked that I’m like one of the X-Men. If you’re unfamiliar with Marvel’s X-Men, they can best be described as humans with genetic changes that give them a variety of super powers. They’reContinue reading “Superhero Status Achieved”
A More Realistic Fairy Tale
The story starts with our beloved heroine, exhausted from slaying demons, sobbing on the floor. She is alone in her cold, gray tower. Alone except for the demons she grows so weary of fighting. She has realized there is no knight coming to save her. No army. No one. And the demons keep marching steadilyContinue reading “A More Realistic Fairy Tale”
525,600
Do you choose fear or love?
One Life, One Chance 