Category Archives: Philadelphia

believed, seen: a dream comes true

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Emily

When a dream comes true after cancer, it carries a certain extra heft. It need not be a dream of life-altering magnitude, like having a child. It can be something much smaller, even seemingly trivial, like getting up close with … Continue reading →

Posted in fellow fighters, Life After Cancer, music, Philadelphia | Tagged dreams, First Descents, friends, queue, social media, Twitter, U2 | 1 Comment

speaking out; running hard

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Emily

By all rights, I should be curled up on the couch with Peter Carey’s Parrot and Olivier in America, sipping my Riverhorse Belgian Freeze, breathing deeply and calmly, engaged in some kind of conscious regrouping after a long and eventful … Continue reading →

Posted in First Descents, Life After Cancer, Philadelphia, running | Tagged 10K, Beemer, Camden, Campbell's Field, Cathy Bueti, devil's butt crack, Double-Oh-Seven, Dr. Mary Daly, finish line, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Kerri Conner, Lemondrop, Mike, Moab, New York CIty Marathon, Peter Carey, Riverhorse Belgian Freeze, Run the Bridge | Leave a comment

never relent: thoughts on game six

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Emily

I could never/Give it up/I could never relent/And I can’t/Wait to see/ What will happen/To me next I will take my chances/’Cause anything can happen/I don’t believe it’s over/’Cause anything can happen Neil and Tim Finn Increasingly, over the past … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, First Descents, Life After Cancer, Philadelphia | Tagged 10K, 2008, beautiful sea of red, Denver, duck-fuzz hair, First Descents, Marhaba, neuropathy, NLCS, Phillies, possibility, Rock 'n' Roll marathon, scars, tears, treadmill, World Series | Leave a comment

actually, it kind of IS about the bike

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Emily

Last weekend marked a huge milestone in my journey away from cancer and back to life. It crept up on me, rather unexpectedly, and left me filled with a lighter-than-air sense of triumph. After cycling seventy-five miles from the outskirts … Continue reading →

Posted in cycling, Life After Cancer, Philadelphia, running | Tagged 9/11, causeways, cycling, Johnson's Popcorn, Mack and Manco's, MLK Drive, MS 150 CIty to Shore, neuropathy, Ocean City, Phillies, pierogies, Planet Cancer, port-a-potties, rock-climbing, stage III ovarian cancer, Team Anti-Corp, Turkey Hill ice cream, Utah, Wyoming | 1 Comment

back in the saddle, back from the dead

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Emily

This morning, as I rode my bike through the corner of South Jersey that I now call home, the sound of the cicadas in the trees took me back to a very particular place: Main Line YMCA day camp, about … Continue reading →

Posted in Life After Cancer, Philadelphia, running | Tagged American Cancer Society, archery, athletics, cicadas, cycling, Fairmount Park, law school, Main Line YMCA, MS 150 CIty to Shore, Ocean City, Red Light Green Light, Red Rover, summer, swimming, theater | 4 Comments

the very essence of me

Posted on April 4, 2010 by Emily

You know you are a dedicated blogger when, after puking your guts out at 2 AM, you think, “This is going to be great material for my next post.” Welcome to my world. I will spare you the details … Continue reading →

Posted in Life After Cancer, Philadelphia | Tagged Bailey's, CA125, CAPRICA, colonoscopy, Crazy Heart, fertility doctor, garden, ghosts, Ian Rankin, Jeff Bridges, moving, New York Times crossword, PTSD, upper endoscopy, Vitamin Water, vomiting | 2 Comments

roll over, play dead

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Emily

Today, not to minimize real weather catastrophes like tsunamis in Indonesia and hurricanes in New Orleans, has been a rain-soaked nightmare in the City of Brotherly Love. In our house, the day began, as Saturdays often do, with Mike and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Life After Cancer, Philadelphia | Tagged basement, boxes, Dark Water, dog food, dry cleaning, flood, gas can, gridlock, hurricane, Jennifer Connelly, packing, Rowhouse Red, tape gun, tsunami | 1 Comment

love train

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Emily

Did my last post come across as, well, homicidal? I didn’t mean for it to. I’m peace-loving, really. To clarify, the only machine gun I would ever wield is one loaded with words; language is my best defense, my greatest … Continue reading →

Posted in First Descents, Life After Cancer, Philadelphia, Work | Tagged First Descents, funk music, gardening, homicidal, Iva, kayaking, love, machine gun, negativity, rock-climbing, Sudoku, Washington, whiplash, Woody Guthrie | Leave a comment

(cancer) flash forward; (cancer) flash back

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Emily

On days when I am due for a check-up with my oncologist or some other cancer-related appointment, I have been known to do things like forget to pack my yoga pants for my acupuncture appointment after work. Yesterday, after getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Life After Cancer, Philadelphia, running | Tagged chemo suite, early detection, family medical history, genetic testing, HIPAA, HNPCC, Perelman Center, port flush, preventive medicine, prophylactic surgery, sports bra, treadmill, West Philly | 1 Comment

f*#% you very much, cancer

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Emily

Thanks to global warming, this December 3 – my own personal designated cancer D-Day – feels nothing like the corresponding day two years ago when I realized I was facing a battle with this truly mean-spirited disease. Hence, no weather-triggered … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer, Life After Cancer, Philadelphia, running | Tagged cancerversary, gin and tonic, jam session, neuropathy, Philadelphia Runner, PTSD, Puma, recurrence, running, upright piano | 2 Comments