Felicia Mitchell

I reflect on how a generic mammogram reminder overlooked my experience as a breast cancer survivor and how thoughtful messaging could make a difference.

Survivors facing new medical concerns may fear the unknown, but perseverance is possible as they navigate unexpected challenges in their new normal.

Years after losing my brother to Hodgkin’s lymphoma, I learned something about how he felt facing a terminal diagnosis by studying an old Polaroid.

Buying a pretty bracelet was healing because it let me look at my lymphedema in a new light.

Even stoics need to cry now and then. My advice from personal experience is this: it is okay to cry.

As I shift from an oncologist to a gynecologist for breast screenings, I examine both my reluctance to let go of the past and my hopes for the future.

When I felt inclined to spend a holiday alone during breast cancer treatment, I was encouraged to think of ways to make new holidays with my family.

Preoccupied with other worries during October, a month full of cancer anniversaries, I reflect on how Pinktober caught up with me.

When natural disasters come, they affect everybody, including people dealing with cancer. I hope for speedy recoveries to patients affected by Hurricane Helene.

If you have lymphedema after breast cancer and want to enjoy the company of cats, there are strategies to avoid potential problems, especially scratches.

Having role models who illustrated body positivity helped me feel more acceptance of changes after my mastectomy.

Losing my hair during chemo treatments wasn't the hard part. The process of it growing back was.

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.