Category Archives: music

from revolution to evolution: belated thanks to the boys

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Emily

Four years ago, I wrote with some fairly measured seriousness about the transcendent experience of finally seeing U2, my favorite band of 30 years, up close. At that moment, I was still living in the relatively immediate shadow of my … Continue reading →

Posted in cycling, Death, Life After Cancer, music | Leave a comment

the music will get you through

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Emily

There are those rare moments that shake us out from under the spell of our routine, the seeming mundanity of every day existence. The sameness, the confusion, the seeming lack of clarity about what, exactly, we are doing, or what … Continue reading →

Posted in fellow fighters, Infertility, Life After Cancer, music, running | 1 Comment

early thanksgiving

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Emily

My original thought last evening, after rocking out insanely for 13.1 miles, was to simply offer a post of thanks for all of the incredible artists – some of whom I’ve loved for my whole life, some of whom are … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, Life After Cancer, music, Philadelphia, running | Tagged celebrate, Florence + The Machine, half-marathon, Philadelphia, Thanksgiving | 1 Comment

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

levon helm + cancer: an all-ages show

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Emily

It’s safe to say that an aging rock musician, whose arguable heyday was thirty-five years ago, doesn’t have much interest in being a cancer crusader. Old people are “supposed” to get cancer, especially after a lifetime of hard living and … Continue reading →

Posted in fellow fighters, music | Tagged Great Songs of the Sixties, Larry Campbell, Levon Helm, Martin Scorsese, radiation, Robbie Robertson, singing, The Big Chill, The Last Waltz, throat cancer, U2, Woodstock | Leave a comment

twice if you’re lucky

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Emily

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, off I go to the Perleman Center for Advanced Medicine to start my day with a pelvic exam and a CA125. Ah, the joys of life as a stage III ovarian cancer survivor. It’s four … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Life After Cancer, music | Tagged Atlantic City, CA125, check-up, Crowded House, diagnosis, House of Blues, Neil Finn, Perelman Center, prepubescence, remission, Split Enz | 1 Comment

up off my knees

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Emily

This morning on my run, less than ten minutes in, one of my favorite U2 songs, “PLEASE,” came up on the shuffle. As I strode along the now-familiar north side of Cooper River, these lyrics struck me: “So you never … Continue reading →

Posted in Life After Cancer, music, running | Tagged "PLEASE", Andrea, Cooper River, encouragement, gardening, Memorial Day, rehabilitation, Teal Ribbon 5K, U2 | 2 Comments

shine on

Posted on February 7, 2010 by Emily

When my husband and I moved into the house we have been renting for the last three and a half years, our heads promptly filled with visions of the happy life we would live here, even the family we would … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer, Family, music, running | Tagged anxiety, back deck, Ben Franklin Bridge, blizzard, cancer, comfort, Cooper River Park, freakout, gardening, guardian angel, Iva, music, New Jersey, Pink Floyd, Planet Cancer, Queens, real estate, Shine on You Crazy Diamond, snow, yoga | Leave a comment