Category Archives: First Descents

CANCERCON 2017: WHY WE COME BACK

My state of mind coming to Denver to speak as part of a young adult cancer conference was primarily one of perplexed amusement. When did I become a “leading expert” on adopting after cancer? I am simply one person with … Continue reading

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PERFECTION, or WHAT IS HARD

Last weekend, at the First Descents Climb-a-Thon, our belayer was, quite unexpectedly, a 14-year-old boy.  When the day began, I formed a climbing group with another cancer survivor, her brother and his girlfriend.  I liked them immediately.  There was a … Continue reading

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mid-life young adult cancer crisis

Has my license to write about cancer expired?  I’ve been thinking about the countless numbers of young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer since I entered this universe over five years ago.  I’ve mused on the lives lost, the … Continue reading

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moments of surrender

As it turns out, there is much more to fear in life than the onset of a life-threatening illness.  Fear of weakness, of facing limitations, of inadequacy, of conflict, of vulnerability – over the last five years, these manifestations of … Continue reading

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this is why we write

Recently, a lovely young woman who just completed treatment for her advanced ovarian cancer told me that reading my blog was “the first time she felt hope.”  She offered these words so honestly, with such straight-forwardness; I was quite taken … Continue reading

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third time’s the charm: first descents, montana, july 2011

They say the third time’s the charm.  But how can I possibly measure my most recent trip to the divine land of First Descents love and laughter against my previous sojourns?  It’s simply not appropriate.  So maybe all I can … Continue reading

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opening; anniversaries

It’s fast becoming clear that Sunday evening’s Yin yoga class is in large part about clearing the mind.  So, on the drive home, it begins to fill up.  After an hour and a half of stretching and expanding and opening … Continue reading

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three years on: haunted, miraculous

When I last wrote, I’d just gotten a hard slap from cancer at the precise moment it seemed I was at long last beginning to put some distance between my life as defined by cancer and the life that I … Continue reading

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speaking out; running hard

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

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no line on the horizon

Following my hysterectomy in the early days of winter, 2008, my oncologist presented us with two treatment “options.”  In my haze and numbness, I was largely unable to absorb information; Mike became my eyes and ears, as well as my … Continue reading

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