Category Archives: fellow fighters

CANCERCON 2017: WHY WE COME BACK

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Emily

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 →

Posted in adoption, fellow fighters, First Descents, Infertility, Life After Cancer | Leave a comment

STAYING ALIVE

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Emily

We are hurtling toward the Christmas holiday; Hanukkah began last night. But the sun is warming us in what feels like another extended summer. As my son grows, will he ever know the joy of a snowy winter morning? Humans … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, Death, fellow fighters, running | 1 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

cancer ate my feminism (or did it?)

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Emily

Last month, I had the good fortune to finally meet a remarkable fellow cancer fighter (and writer) with whom I’ve had a years-long virtual relationship.   As has happened many times before, when these virtual connections become “real,” I was struck … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, fellow fighters, politics, Work | Tagged , | 1 Comment

cancer: then, now, always

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Emily

Last month, an acquaintance from high school emailed me to report that she’d just been diagnosed with cancer.  I was momentarily floored, but unfortunately, the reality of young adult cancer is so much a part of my life that the … Continue reading →

Posted in fellow fighters, Life After Cancer | Tagged | 2 Comments

LET ME THINK BACK

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Emily

In preparation for an upcoming panel discussion about young adult cancer and social media, I’ve been thinking back on the motivating purpose behind my years’ worth of writing about cancer and its aftermath.  This reflective process began slowly a few … Continue reading →

Posted in fellow fighters, Life After Cancer, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

PERFECTION, or WHAT IS HARD

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Emily

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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this is why we write

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Emily

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 →

Posted in adoption, fellow fighters, First Descents, Life After Cancer, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

lucky me?

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Emily

Many weeks ago, as I walked the neighborhood with my new baby snuggled in his Moby wrap, a woman coming out of her car stopped us with a smile.  She peered in at Earl’s tiny face. “What a beautiful baby,” … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, fellow fighters, Life After Cancer | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

invisible touch

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Emily

In an unexpected twist of fate, the presence of these writings in the public space of the Internet has revealed deep and difficult connections between my status as a cancer survivor and an adoptive mother.  I owe this in large … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, fellow fighters, Infertility, Life After Cancer | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments