hazel's blog

A wrinkle about scan times

A common theme on melanoma discussion forums is frustration with the length of time between scans when when patients are on the “watch and wait” regimen after being told there is no evidence of disease. It’s been bugging me lately – probably because I needed to have something to stew about to ward off scanxiety as we approach Robert’s six-month scans in early June.

The two Ds

Ann Patchett wrote in her new book, The Story of a Happy Marriage, about thinking up stories in her head while waiting tables early in her writing career. She perfected this technique to the point where she was able to, essentially, write entire novels in her head before scribing them on a keyboard.

I wish I could do that! Oh, I can write in my head – I just can’t get through the “scribing” part.

For caregivers adjusting to a 'new normal'

When we first found out about Robert’s melanoma, we did what we had to do just to survive. I couldn’t begin to walk back into that scene and tell you how I was feeling at the time, or analyze it and tell you how we learned to cope. But I have a few suggestions for caregivers of newly diagnosed melanoma patients, stemming from my experience during those first few months.

In the absence of knowledge

A case in Robert’s law practice has got me thinking about what happens in humans’ brains when we see or hear something without any context. One issue has to do with what government investigators thought they were hearing on a wiretap. I hope what I’m learning from thinking about this will apply not only to my life with an N.E.D. cancer survivor (one with No Evidence of Disease) but also to other circumstances of my, and my family’s, life.

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