Category Archives: cancer

Life’s Qualities

Posted on January 5, 2022 by susanmsink@gmail.com

Quality of life is something one talks and thinks about a lot with cancer. Most of the time it’s an easy conversation with oneself: Is it worth it to undergo this treatment, that might be difficult and will certainly have … Continue reading →

Posted in Benedictine monastery, cancer, COVID-19, food, prairie, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The Hoops

Posted on November 17, 2021 by susanmsink@gmail.com

I had to request all my records from the last five years, some by FAX (yes, fax) and some by CD, be sent to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Then they asked that I get a scan as it had … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Trial

Posted on October 23, 2021 by susanmsink@gmail.com

About a minute after I found out I had Stage IV ovarian cancer, back in February 2016, I learned the word immunotherapy. For at least a year, and occasionally since then, people sent me links to videos and articles about … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

The Break

Posted on October 20, 2021 by susanmsink@gmail.com

I’m seven weeks from my last chemo treatment. This round I had one infusion a month for two cycles, six months in total. After three months I had a scan that showed, for the first time, not progress but stability. … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Anniversary

Posted on February 25, 2021 by susanmsink@gmail.com

My freezer and fridge are full of fancy food. I have a quality steak. I have a lamb roast and lamb chops from a local farmer. I have frozen mussels, and scallops, large shrimp, salmon. Frozen salmon ravioli I made … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer, COVID-19, food | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Cognitive Dissonance

Posted on July 22, 2020 by susanmsink@gmail.com

About midway through the national lockdown, I saw an article saying “prepare for the gas lighting.” Soon, the article said, we’d start hearing minimizing of Covid-19, being told we are overly concerned and overreacting and that really it is no … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer, COVID-19, politics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

In the Garden

Posted on April 10, 2020 by susanmsink@gmail.com

It is Maundy Thursday, and my evening didn’t go as planned. I wanted to make a feast and had planned to wash my husband’s feet, if he would let me, which is doubtful. I think it would have been a … Continue reading →

Posted in Benedictine monastery, cancer, religion | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Advice for Self-Isolating

Posted on March 16, 2020 by susanmsink@gmail.com

With the US in an ever-expanding state of quarantine, I’m interested to see how people are setting up, settling in, and handling being at home for long periods of time. And I have to tell you, as someone who has … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer, COVID-19 | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Houston, We had a problem

Posted on October 17, 2019 by susanmsink@gmail.com

Hi WordPress blog fans! Whew. The blog has been down, I see, since about June 14. That’s interesting timing, as my last treatment of Chemo Round 2 was on June 4. I was too overwhelmed to do trouble shooting (sadly, … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer, garden, prairie, writing | 5 Comments

Writing Through

Posted on April 4, 2019 by susanmsink@gmail.com

Yesterday, sitting in my bed after chemo, I finished the final draft (as far as anything is final) of my novel, Failure to Thrive. I am now working on finalizing an agent list for querying and writing the query and … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer, writing | Tagged , | 11 Comments