Jan 26
So, this month is my 50th birthday! I know that surprises some of you who thought perhaps I was pushing 70. Well, actually both are true… It was January 1972, my sophomore year of college at THE Ohio State University (some of you are cheering and others are booing—I love you all). My best friend …
Jan 12
I literally have known thousands of people diagnosed with cancer, but there has only ever been one whose diagnosis made me smile. I think you’ll understand why after reading this story of how God touched two hearts to bring hope to hundreds of hurting people. I met Karen Wineholt in 1983 at a meeting for breastfeeding …
Dec 15
I thought it wouldn’t. But it did. It happened again. Kenny G was belting out jazzy, holiday cheer. A burning candle wafted a delicious candy cane scent. I was by myself happily decorating our house for Christmas. I lifted a slightly torn, rectangular box out of the large plastic storage bin and chuckled to myself. This box …
Dec 01
Those are the words penned by author-pastor John Piper on the eve of his surgery for prostate cancer in 2006. My cancer prayer support group often discussed one of Piper’s ten ways we can “waste” cancer by allowing it—instead of God—to be foremost in our lives.* Probably the cancer survivor who most often expressed …
Oct 13
I haven’t posted anything since March about my oncologist/former boss/dear friend, Dr. Marc Hirsh, who was diagnosed 16 months ago with an extremely rare, large cancerous tumor behind his heart. Last month at his 6-month checkup with his Hershey Medical oncologist, Marc and his wife Elizabeth braced themselves for bad news, still clinging to hope …
Sep 15
I miss my dad. It’s been a decade since he took his last breath on this earth and I still miss him. Especially during college football season as I’m frantically cheering on my Ohio State Buckeyes (with apologies to all my friends in that state up north!) My dad was an incredible multi-sport athlete, as …
Jun 23
Today I’d like to introduce you to “Crash,” a red-tailed hawk, who had the misfortune of colliding with a car this spring in Mercer County, PA, and had to be extricated from the front bumper. The good news is that Crash survived his ordeal, was rescued and then taken to a wildlife rehab center. However, …
May 12
Today Dr. Marc Hirsh, my oncologist, my brother in faith and my dear friend, turns 70. I know others who have recently, or will soon, reach this milestone, but none I’m celebrating more than this guy. That’s because shortly after his birthday last year, Marc was diagnosed with a rare atypical carcinoid tumor of the …
Apr 14
I don’t think most people are truly prepared to get bad news–especially concerning our health or a loved one’s. Instead we hope against hope that things will not turn out as we fear and the whole nightmare will go away. Right up until I saw the look on my gastroenterologist’s face after my colonoscopy …
Mar 31
There’s nothing funny about cancer. But after my diagnosis in 1990, I figured laughter could be good medicine for our family. Upon learning that my chemo pill actually was a worming medicine designed to kill intestinal parasites in sheep and dogs, I would pop one in my mouth and start barking and chasing my …
