Patient & Researcher Blog
Here I aim to capture what I am learning as a newbie researcher from a patient perspective.
Living with a slow growing brain cancer
It is taboo for researchers to talk about their work before it is published.
I think that’s a bummer.
My favorite part about research is learning new things in real time. Here I share my observations as a learner and my n of 1 (personal) findings as a patient.
Note: I started blogging about brain cancer in 2008, at age 29.
I had no background or knowledge about healthcare when I began. Please excuse typos and other misconceptions. What you read here is me in real time, like a time capsule.
There are more than 500 posts here. Use this search to look for something specific. Good luck!
Questions submitted for the 2012 National Brain Tumor Society Summit
Before I left for the National Brain Tumor Society's annual summit I asked The Liz Army blog readers if you had questions you would like me to ask doctors and health care professionals I would presumably meet at the event.
What do you want me to learn at the National Brain Tumor Society Summit?
If I am going to be surrounded by the best and brightest in the world of brain tumor research and advocacy, what do you hope I learn? What information do you want me to bring back to all of you so you can read about it here on the blog?
Lobbying with my emotions: brain tumor advocacy is conjuring up all kinds of dirt
I have no idea if my father is 'proud' of me, but in my mind he has no right to be proud. Because nothing of who I am reflects on him, his skills as a parent or of who he is as a person. Pride is feeling good about something you did. He never did anything, and he certainly never reached out during my entire cancer process. I never got flowers. I never got a card. He didn't come to my wedding.
Brain tumor advocacy in full swing: it's time to educate Congress
There are people who are mortgaging their homes just to get their kids the Temodar they need. Some people are skipping their treatment and using it only every other month.So you can imagine what a blessing it would be to brain cancer patients everywhere if our chemotherapy was treated the same way as chemo for every other cancer patient. For reasons unknown to me, we are being discriminated against, and this is not OK.
Screw "watch and wait"... keep fighting
It sounds pessimistic, but let's be real: even when you are moving on with your life and enjoying survivorship or remission, you still worry about cancer from time to time.