
It’s important for cancer survivors to follow-up with things that worry them. For me, my lymphedema sparked some fear.

Felicia Mitchell, retired from college teaching, is a poet and writer who makes her home in southwestern Virginia. She is a survivor of stage 2b HER2-positive breast cancer diagnosed in 2010. Website: www.feliciamitchell.net

It’s important for cancer survivors to follow-up with things that worry them. For me, my lymphedema sparked some fear.

Surviving breast cancer showed me that life is precious, but I also would like to prepare for life's eventualities.

The Princess of Wales' diagnosis of cancer after a successful procedure is not unusual — it even happened to me.

Every holiday season, one song starts to play in my head even if I do not hear it on the radio: “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth.”

When mentioning “breast cancer” in a story about my college experience is not allowed, I considered alternatives to the medical term that describes my situation best.

Although I know I am not a scientist, and understand my cancer may take a lifetime, I contemplate why I ended up with too many copies of the HER2 gene.

Surviving cancer means not just checking items off a bucket list, but also taking pleasure in doing the mundane, from sweeping a porch to mowing a lawn.

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly popular and can even write generic poems about the cancer experience. However, I feel that they cannot compare to the writings of people who actually lived with the disease.

With each hike I complete, I feel empowered and reminded that breast cancer — and lingering lymphedema — cannot keep me down.

Cancer is complicated enough while we are in it. How important are specific memories and details as we focus on survivorship into, hopefully, an old age that may bring natural memory loss?

During this holiday season, lighting candles in remembrance and in honor of those who need a little light on their cancer journeys helps me cope, too.

A routine can feel so comfortable that change is hard. So, when my annual mammogram and cancer checkup was delayed, I tried hard not to sweat the small stuff.

Here are some tips on how I helped a friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

I recently came across a shoebox full of cards sent to me after I was diagnosed with cancer. The love expressed by others was uplifting to me.

“Love Story,” the story about a young woman who falls in love and then dies of cancer, affects me differently now than it did when I was a teenager and no experience with either love or cancer.

I did not wear my prosthetic breast for my son’s wedding, but I did pack some lymphedema essentials for my trip.

It has been 46 years since my brother died of cancer, and I have finally reached the “bitter resentment” stage of grief.

Finding a swimsuit if you have not chosen reconstruction after breast cancer can be a challenge, but there are many ways to find what best works for you.

As I prepared for my friend’s celebration of life, I reflected on other loved ones I lost to cancer and pondered why I am lucky enough to survive.

After seeing my brother go through extraordinary pain because of lymphoma and then surviving breast cancer myself, I always pushed through the pain — even when I shouldn’t have.

A breast cancer survivor describes how preparing an outfit for her son’s upcoming wedding and seeing social media photos of other women sparked body envy within her for those who have not been affected by breast cancer surgeries.

Nobody wants to learn they have cancer. But sometimes, the disease teaches people to appreciate other aspects of life, one cancer survivor explains.
