Author Archives: susanmsink@gmail.com

Fertility (2)

Back when I was first contemplating the pregnant woman hanging clothes in Sophia’s painting, I was also contemplating my own family history with fertility. I’m the first in my family (as far as I know) to be diagnosed with a … Continue reading

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Home and the Eating is Good

I got back home on Saturday and although I had a cold I needed to tend to (thank you Airborne, cold caps at night, and Tylenol now and then to make sure I didn’t get a fever), I was determined … Continue reading

Posted in cancer, garden | 3 Comments

Check-in

Greetings from St. Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana. Or, more specifically, the Inn at St. Mary’s, a beautiful hotel on the edge of campus where I’ve been staying since Sunday. I’m here all week giving talks on The Saint John’s … Continue reading

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Thursdays

Up until Memorial Day, my chemotherapy treatments were on Tuesdays and Thursdays were my worst days in terms of recovery. I called them my “down days.” I meant that I was down on the couch, not that I was feeling … Continue reading

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At the Cancer Hospital (2)

This “triple whammy” week has been challenging, but not in the way I thought it might be. Everything was harsher and a little longer than usual, but the side effects are still mostly annoying and not painful. I had some … Continue reading

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Garden

My sister came to help me this week, during a challenging round of chemotherapy. Since the beginning I’ve been doing everything possible to stay healthy for a week-long conference at St. Mary’s College in South Bend, where I’m the afternoon … Continue reading

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Avatar

I still like what I see in the mirror. Being bald hasn’t bothered me, though it’s always surprising. Because I never properly shaved my head, I have funny little silver hairs that stick up over much of my scalp. They … Continue reading

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Oncology

I’ve been thinking about oncologists lately. I think it’s hard for most of us to imagine a “call” to oncology, or choosing oncology as a specialty, if we ever think about becoming doctors at all. So much bad news to … Continue reading

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Chemo Buddies

I remember the first treatment, when I had expected to be sitting in a big room or rows of chairs getting chemo with a bunch of patients, and it turned out we each had our own room, thinking: “How am I … Continue reading

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May

Last week was a long week. I have had a relatively easy time in terms of side effects, but for about three weeks the fatigue that set in was very difficult to work around. It turns out it was due … Continue reading

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