Highlighting patients and care partners from around the world living positive lives despite the hurdles they face.
These are their stories, in their own words.
By José Picayo I am 64 years old, a photographer and a weaver. Like many men, I did not know much about the prostate until I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022. Not knowing or understanding prostate cancer, when one hears the words “you have cancer,” one thinks of dying. Having had my father … Read more>>
By Ashlee Olsen In 2004, about six weeks after giving birth to my son, I developed my first symptom of neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a rare condition where the immune system damages the spinal cord and the optic nerves. One morning, I woke up and couldn’t see out of my right eye. I visited the local … Read more>>
By Zora Majeed I remember when my symptoms started – it was 2005 and I was in my mid 20s, when out of the blue I began experiencing fatigue, joint problems, and abdominal pain/digestive issues. This was accompanied by an intermittent feeling of numbness down the right side of my body with a sense of … Read more>>
By Mathew Herbert In this blog post, guest blogger Mathew Herbert shares his story of providing care and support for his wife who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. April is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month, and, according to the American Association for Cancer Research, more than 18,000 Americans were diagnosed with the disease in 2020. Kelly … Read more>>
By Morgan Floyd Williams In this blog post, guest blogger Morgan Floyd Williams shares her experience of being a teacher and parent navigating the Coronavirus pandemic while also dealing with clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). I have been in the world of public education my entire life. I am a third-generation teacher currently … Read more>>
By Amy Roberts In this blog post, 40-year-old Amy Roberts from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, shares her experience of being exposed to COVID-19, getting severely ill, seeking testing and treatment, and her long recovery from the virus. By mid-February, my 10-year-old son was coming home from school every day asking, “Mom, what is going to happen if … Read more>>
By Natalie Edwards In this blog post, guest blogger Natalie Edwards shares her story of dealing with infertility and all the emotions she experienced on her journey to getting pregnant. Shock/Disbelief. Denial. Bargaining. Guilt. Anger. Depression. Acceptance/Hope. These are the seven stages of grief. That’s how I describe what going through infertility is like to … Read more>>
by Mike Sturm February is Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Month and in this blog post, guest blogger Mike Sturm shares how difficult it was to get the correct diagnosis of AMD, leading to loss of vision in his eye. According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, this eye disease is the leading cause of vision … Read more>>
By Amanda Cabrera In this blog post, guest blogger Amanda Cabrera shares her story of how she was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after becoming a new mom. She stresses the importance of early detection as she does her part to raise awareness of this cancer that will affect one out of eight women over … Read more>>
By Holly Radabaugh In this blog post, guest blogger Holly Radabaugh shares the story of how her mother survived a heart attack against all odds and emphasizes the importance of recognizing the more subtle signs of a heart attack that many women experience. Nine years ago, my mother had a heart attack and subsequently, open … Read more>>