Greetings from CancerLand: Writing the Journey to Recovery Book

Contents

Introduction....................ix
Foreword....................xi
From the Medical Record....................3
Boris....................4
In the Name of Pinkness....................6
Dear Doctor,....................11
This Breast Surgeon....................13
Diagnosis....................14
CancerLand....................15
The Power of the Pink Ribbon....................17
Seeing Red....................19
To Hell & Back....................22
Walking the Green Mile....................28
Drain Rhymes with Pain....................29
Questions about Chemo....................32
Magical Thinking....................34
Cancer Cat....................39
Survivor's Guide to Post-Operative Body Image....................43
Cancer Scripts....................44
Symmetry in the Blue Dress....................47
Not Helpful....................48
A CancerLand Holiday Wishlist ... or Please Help Me Get Through the Season....................51
Six Month Check-up....................54
Radiation Crazy Time....................55
Complications....................58
That Lucky Guy....................66
Breast Cancer Support Meeting Tonight & Refreshments Will Be Served....................69
Deleterious Mutation....................72
This is a Test....................76
Lowest Point....................80
Call Your Nurse....................82
CancerLand in the First Person....................86
Plastic Surgeon Photo Shoot....................88
Reconstruction....................91
Revision....................92
Me and My Vampire....................95
Impatient Patient....................99
Dancing with NED....................103
Donations Gratefully Accepted....................104
The Last Noel....................106
A Few Words for the Graduates....................109
It's Not About the Jigsaw Puzzle....................112
Spirit of Spring....................115
Weeds....................117
To Answer Your Question: Why I Take Pictures of Flowers....................120
Chemo Brain Meets the Inscrutable Relational Database....................121
Tutor and Student....................123
Yearly Check-up....................125
Something Good....................128
Splendidly Imperfect 50/50....................132
One Good Thing About My Yearly Mammogram....................136
Sometimes I Almost Forget....................137
The Box....................139
Acknowledgments....................141