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!
Tennis dream
The reason this dream is interesting/significant is because, even though I write left-handed, I play sports right-handed. I think my subconscious is telling me that no matter what happens I can adapt. I was telling myself this in my sleep both figuratively and literally.
Possible damage to the motor strip
He's worried that if we get too close to my motor strip it will create neurological damage that could inflict some level of paralysis.
Hi, I'm having a craniotomy, again
Last night I sent this message to the 12 clinicians listed in my MyChart.
My neurosurgeon’s recipe for salad dressing (not kidding 😂)
I have to be honest. The idea of this salad, especially the part about canned salmon, did not seem appealing. But from everything I've read lately about nutrition this salad sounded like the epitome of “brain food.” And it was even more convincing coming from a neurosurgeon.
Top 5 Things that are Cool About Brain Surgery
If you have to have brain surgery you might as well bask in a few weeks of love and awesomeness. Here’s my personal top five list.
Top 5 Things that Suck About Brain Surgery
If you have to have brain surgery, here are a few things you should know in advance that might make the experience less than pleasant.
You're not going to die, you know
He asked the same questions. He wondered the same things. I started to cry... perhaps with relief. "You're not going to die, you know."
Back to work anxiety
Without going into too much detail that doesn't really matter, I was brought into a meeting and some comments were made that hurt my feelings. I don't think these comments were made to hurt me on purpose, but they were unfair and cut to the root of everything I have anxiety for in regard to returning to work with cancer and a new job.
Making way for the new me
In the first dream I was cleaning my actual closet in real life. In the second dream I went to the house of someone where I felt like I left items. When I got there I threw away my old things. After I was done, I noticed that their house was messy so I cleaned the whole house for them so they'd come home to a clean house. They thanked me for my work.