tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19314293813307663562011-04-21T15:02:18.526-05:00Living With Cancer in Your Twenties and ThirtiesKairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.comBlogger1001100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-28574192935421778542009-03-04T22:03:00.002-06:002009-03-04T22:07:02.716-06:00

In The BuffHave you ever had to be naked in front of friends and family so they could care for you? What was it like? Did it flip you out? Comfort you? Are you any more or less modest since cancer?Read the post on my new blog - click here: everythingchangesbook.com

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-17575287107785209982009-02-27T00:02:00.002-06:002009-02-27T00:07:34.814-06:00

It is flu season. Everyone has the flu. I don’t, but having just typed that, the tiniest threat of superstition is upon me and I’m afraid I’ve jinxed myself.I think to many outsiders, the flu might seem like nada compared to having cancer. In the grand scheme of things it is. But my physical body doesn’t really live in the grand scheme of things.To read more please visit my new blog. Yep,

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-82058209127295927592009-02-14T20:52:00.002-06:002009-02-14T20:56:44.315-06:00

Read my new post about the suckiness of simultaneous cancer and singledom. Currently you are on my old blog, so you'll have to click here to visit my new blog: everythingchangesbook.comHappy Valentine's Day!Kairol

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-14237778713451923502009-02-09T01:05:00.000-06:002009-02-09T01:07:05.829-06:00

I read a fantastic article in the New York Times, by Lesley Alderman, about how to save money on prescription drugs. I’ve slash out the doughnut hole lingo and other senior factors and created a summary version that relates more to 20 and 30-somethings.Read the full post on my new blog: http://everythingchangesbook.com/

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-46461843422324173432009-02-05T00:28:00.003-06:002009-02-05T00:32:09.919-06:00

What were your favorite cancer foods? How did you hack the site of food when you wanted to hurl? This is what my most recent post is about, but you can't read it here. Nope, you've got to go to my new blog. I've closed up shop with blogger, but you can now visit me at everythingchangesbook.com. See you there!

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-52528520035537483382009-02-02T02:55:00.004-06:002009-02-02T03:09:11.751-06:00

Hi Everyone,Blogger has been good to me, but I’ve got a sparkling new blog, at a brand new address:http://everythingchangesbook.com/Be sure to update bookmarks. If you subscribe to my blog’s RSS feed, be sure to re-subscribe to the new site feed. At my new site you can also sign up to receive blog posts via email.See you there!Kairol

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-66647104350641770722009-01-28T13:52:00.004-06:002009-01-28T14:24:36.814-06:00

In the Young Caregivers section of my book Everything Changes, I write about a study that shows while cancer patients and caregivers both suffer from quality of life and mental health issues, patients have a greater sense of spiritual wellbeing and social integration than our caregiver counterparts. We tend to bounce back, and sometimes even benefit from the cancer experience, while caregivers

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-27433918976477186752009-01-27T00:51:00.006-06:002009-01-27T04:54:51.638-06:00

As a young adult cancer patient, I feel I have reached my quota of sickness. I don't want more cancer, nor do I want my friends’ colds or their kids’ flus. Germs linger and it is easy to recycle colds within a household. If you, your roommate, your parents, your friends, or your kids have been sick, treat your dwelling like a New Jersey superfund clean up site.1. Wash. Wash in hot water bed

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-740347412512628312009-01-24T12:42:00.006-06:002009-01-24T13:09:30.475-06:00

The FDA has made a new decision that will affect how our doctors are informed about the safety and efficacy of drugs. Let me give you some background information.Two years ago a new batch of tumors was found in my neck and I began taking Avandia, which is FDA approved for the treatment of diabetes. A group of scientists had begun experimenting with Avandia as a thyroid cancer drug, with

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-16326350146809365652009-01-20T10:11:00.001-06:002009-01-20T10:34:35.975-06:00

Drama-ramaMy young adult cancer diagnosis quickly taught me that there is enough drama in the world that I don’t have any control over, so I should try to minimize the drama I can control. In my book, Everything Changes, I call this my Drama Reduction Program. Here’s an example of how it works: I cannot control the results of my PET scan, but I can stop making lunch dates with a prima donna

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-12378898244975135812009-01-16T03:08:00.000-06:002009-01-16T03:08:00.591-06:00

Lay of The LandI am often asked by young adult cancer patients how to best go about writing and publishing a book. The answer is complex and calls for a series of posts.Many changes have happened in the last two decades in publishing, both constricting and expanding the possibilities for getting your words in print. Massive conglomeratization has occurred in the publishing world – the 200 some

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-33390271545332340582009-01-14T20:12:00.004-06:002009-01-14T20:44:48.199-06:00

Music-obsessiveAlice Cooper, Lucinda Williams, and Jonny Cash. “I’m a music-obsessive, and I can’t imagine having prostate cancer without listening to just the right music to complement my moods: joy and sadness, anger and gratitude, fear and doubt,” Dana Jennings writes in his New York Times article Notes to Soothe the Savage Cells.Tara-Parker Pope of the Well Blog has created the Soundtrack for

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-46456378248911091252009-01-13T06:50:00.000-06:002009-01-13T06:48:53.582-06:00

Are your veins shot from chemo? Are you tired of being a human pin cushion? What can you do to get juicier veins for easier blood draws and IV sticks? I recently called the 24 hour-nurse line at my insurance company, United Healthcare, and talked to a friendly nurse about how I could make it easier when they are digging for a vein. She gave me the following ideas:1. Experience. It is your

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-87920886297039513822009-01-11T14:26:00.000-06:002009-01-11T14:26:00.348-06:00

It is scary that technology used to rummage through Chernobyl is also used to measure how radioactive thyroid cancer patients become during our treatment. I have twice gone through Radioactive Iodine 131 treatment. The second time around I had a boyfriend who worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as an astrophysicist. He stole a Geiger counter from work to measure how many rads I was

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-4262521541339161912009-01-09T21:14:00.006-06:002009-01-09T21:39:39.657-06:00

I wasn’t chugging barium in New York. Or going under the knife in San Francisco. I was escaping the daily grind in a seaside village in Mexico. For the first time in two years I took a real vacation. For ten days, I didn’t think about cancer once. Okay, I lied. Once.Reclusive GeekThe beach in Sayulita, Mexico was the worst of Berkeley and the Jersey Shore combined: Waifs in dental-floss

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-67899601467776392112008-12-28T01:30:00.000-06:002008-12-28T01:30:59.910-06:00

Easy On Your Chemo Brain‘Young adult.’ When I say those words, people automatically think middle school literature: Forever and Sweet Valley High. (By the way, did you know Francine Pascal only conceived the series but many of the volumes were actually written by a guy? As an undergrad in New York, I babysat his toddlers.)To avoid confusion with this literary genre, instead of saying ‘young adult

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-35656833595443240512008-12-25T14:53:00.002-06:002008-12-25T15:01:45.597-06:00

Christmas CrankingWhile you all are out there eating your pineapple roasted ham, slicing your turkey, and lighting the tree (or lighting your menorah and indulging in Chinese food and a movie) I’ve sat at my desk and gotten five uninterrupted hours of writing done. No phone calls, no emails, no voicemails. That is what I call a Christmas miracle.Christmas LoungingOn another Christmas note: a

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-78723220054455105002008-12-23T20:45:00.004-06:002008-12-23T23:27:35.552-06:00

Sign Of The TimesIt is not often you read an article in the New York Times about crafting. The thrust of it is that with the economic down turn, more people are making handmade gifts and craft stores are seeing as much as a 33% spike in sales over last year.I’m a dreamer, not a crafter. I have the makings for four baby blankets floating around my apartment. These newborns may be in middle

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-53015676851750599142008-12-21T23:55:00.002-06:002008-12-22T00:27:59.118-06:00

Real EstateI don’t have a barn in my backyard, a house in Maine with a pre-hiking room, or a Connecticut home with a peony garden. The only space I technically own is my dog hair laden station wagon. But this doesn’t hinder me from slipping into my Ina Garten and Martha Stewart alter egos.When a friend, colleague, ex-boyfriend, acquaintance, or stranger drives you to the doctors, waits with you

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-71814970100348160212008-12-19T01:38:00.005-06:002008-12-19T11:56:39.006-06:00

SexyChurch sex scandals, a mom-and-pop candy cane business, and a twenty-nine year old murder story. At best these tales make for good check out counter reading, however, these are headline stories that graced the front pages of three major media and broadcast outlets today.Today is no different from any other day. The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Pew Research Center’s Project for

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-55033287034351193832008-12-16T20:35:00.004-06:002008-12-16T22:38:53.558-06:00

On The WireThis week Reuters news service wrote a release about a study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The study analyzed 16 different topical moisturizers whose ingredient list did not include estrogen, yet when tested many actually did contain the hormone.This article ran in Scientific America, on Oncolink, Fox News and other major media outlets. It quotes Dr. Adrienne

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-54013488351026758312008-12-13T19:49:00.001-06:002008-12-13T19:53:01.392-06:00

The DilemmaI have not blogged in the last few days because I was with a family member in the ER and then the hospital. Here’s a tid bit of stellar advocacy I pulled out of my ass during a moment of high exhaustion and rage.At 3pm we had been waiting for hour seven in the ER for transfer to a room. The room was ready for us; we just needed the primary care’s administrative blessing in order to

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-30030088993368730342008-12-10T02:01:00.006-06:002008-12-10T02:57:56.092-06:00

I’m high. Killing brains cells. Just from sitting in my apartment after the maintenance guy came to fill, with toxic caulking, the leaky drafts in my 80 year old windows. I want to know just how many points these fumes transfer from my healthy-cancer-girl column into my tumor-burden-hell column.I wish the effort to shrink my tumors was like being on Weight Watchers; I’m jonsing for a formulaic

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-21748668762879022492008-12-09T00:14:00.003-06:002008-12-09T00:27:15.591-06:00

Marble On My NumberI had cancer and no health insurance. I wasn’t a 27-year old slacker who didn’t want insurance. And although it was a stretch, I was even able to pay for it. Instead, Denise, my HR director, forgot to submit my COBRA papers when I left my job. What are the chances you get diagnosed with cancer the month your COBRA papers fall through the cracks? However small they were, the

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-18851175193809772152008-12-07T17:23:00.005-06:002008-12-07T17:31:36.857-06:00

Cancer-Free Trees PleaseI like to get the skinny on how to raise healthy kids because let’s face it, many cancer patients have the brittle immune system of an infant or a toddler. What’s good for the bodies of the knee biters and rug rats is often good for young adult cancer patients too.Far be it for me, a Jew, to tell you what to do with your Christmas tree. But let me at least throw some

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-87637761214396141812008-12-04T19:43:00.003-06:002008-12-04T19:54:25.367-06:00

ConfessionDon’t hate me, but I have never had one ounce of interest in passing through my crotch an object the size of a cantaloupe. Nor do I want to give up the life of writing till 5 AM and sleeping until 11 AM (okay, truth be told, I really sleep till 1 PM if I can). I have never wanted to have kids, but if I did, I would adopt. It kills me to think of all the kids living in my own damn

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-75559916680158733682008-12-02T13:41:00.004-06:002008-12-02T14:05:55.329-06:00

Cancer may no longer be the C word, but ‘sex and cancer’ is still a barely audible, whispered topic. Docs keep their traps shut about sex and cancer as though they are mortified substitute teachers covering a sex ed. class and telling students to use the period to do their own homework.I’ve spent five years traversing the country talking to twenty and thirty-something cancer patients. And while

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-78745924410055435932008-12-01T09:46:00.004-06:002008-12-01T10:18:33.018-06:00

Cancer is dramatic enough. When it comes to my body and the environment, I want the least amount of enviro-paranoia and vegan-girl-scout-pep-rallying as possible. That is exactly what I like about Sloan Barnett’s new book Green Goes With Everything.The ProsIn this basic primer on becoming a green consumer, Sloan is no Julia Butterfly and doesn’t expect you to be one either. She present steps

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-14264963718562170322008-11-29T08:47:00.005-06:002008-11-29T08:58:32.689-06:00

What do you get when you cross Kris Carr’s documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer, Marisa Marchetto’s graphic novel Cancer Vixen, and throw in a dash of David Lynch’s film The Straight Story? Watch and find out.Curious to know your take on the cigarette factor. Is it a nice touch of young adult cancer realism or do you want to flick that carcinogenic smoke stack out of her twenty-something hand and ask

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-39148823238705205982008-11-27T12:57:00.003-06:002008-11-27T13:09:36.198-06:00

I want to be reasonableDuring the last eight years – plus a few more before I was even diagnosed with cancer - I’ve traveled all over the map of holistic health (though I’ve made sure to steer clear of shoving coffee grounds up my ass.) The final upshot of all this quack-sifting-soul-searching-alternative-seeking-cancer-questing is that in the end, I want to be reasonable. I know, reasonable

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-32031348619149094502008-11-26T00:47:00.004-06:002008-11-26T01:03:45.761-06:00

Over the last 24-hours a story has spread like wildfire through the young adult cancer community. An article in the San Antonio Express-News describes the abysmal accommodations of 21-year-old Airman Basic Joseph Weston, who was diagnosed with cancer three weeks into boot camp, and his struggles to obtain medical dismissal and medical retirement.I recently wrote a post entitled The Nice Cancer

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-90139029666897972382008-11-24T01:54:00.002-06:002008-11-24T02:20:05.519-06:00

The State We’re In, a great pubic radio program, asked me to write the following piece, about cancer blogging, titled The Nice Cancer Bloggers. You can read the piece below and click here to listen to the podcast. I’m curious to know: when you comment on a cancer blog do you find yourself being more polite or sensitive than if you were commenting on any other kind of blog?Reaching for a box of

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-4679885712375393012008-11-21T16:48:00.006-06:002008-11-22T16:45:41.068-06:00

She’s a very nice woman. So I’ll blur her identity. Create a pseudonym for her TV show. And get to the meat of the barbecue matter.I got an email yesterday from a producer (we’ll call her Cassy) of a pilot (we’ll call it Outrageous Outdoors) that will air on a major TV network. So sweet of her to help me publicize my book by making the following offer: Cassy asked me to host an episode where

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-31334576469942453812008-11-20T00:14:00.004-06:002008-11-20T00:21:55.589-06:00

As I clacked away at my computer today, photographer Andrew Young set up big, umbrella-like lighting devices and shot pictures of me at work. He is creating a book of photos of and essays by cancer survivors. It was about as close as I will ever get to pretending that I am on America’s Next Top Model. If this sounds like fun to you, meet Bill Aron.Bill is 67. He is a prostate cancer survivor

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-41573519517301123692008-11-19T00:39:00.004-06:002008-11-19T01:03:34.315-06:00

What the hell do sociologists do anyway? This one studies the lives of cancer patients: Kelly Adams, a senior at Kenyon College is writing her thesis on the ways in which cancer patients incorporate their experiences with cancer into their new identities as survivors. Sound heady? Well it is not. I sat down with her interview questionnaire this weekend and her questions cut straight to the

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-12489880283377475082008-11-18T00:01:00.003-06:002008-11-18T00:12:41.818-06:00

Caitlin Love’s best friend was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when they were fourteen. For the last ten years, Caitlin watched her friend struggle with the emotional effects of this traumatic experience. She now has the hunch that with better follow up treatment, her friend’s negative effects could have been minimized, greatly improving her quality of life.Talk about BFF: Now working on

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-62749327837648915392008-11-13T12:49:00.003-06:002008-11-13T13:31:22.501-06:00

This week CNN featured a letter from Lance Armstrong to President-Elect Obama. The gist: we need to strengthen the fight against cancer through creating national coordination, increasing National Cancer Institute funding, investing in prevention and screening, and ramping up support services.As one of the 70,000 young adults diagnosed with cancer in the United States each year, I strongly

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-14016117763088728962008-11-12T01:38:00.003-06:002008-11-12T01:47:06.938-06:00

I have a hard enough time trying to explain my cancer to my friends and family; I cannot imagine having to explain my illness to rug rats and knee bitters too.Even though I don’t have kids, I’m big on sharing good resources for parents with cancer. Some picture books about Mommy’s cancer seem a bit touchy-feely-creepy in a flashback to Mister Roger’s way (no offense Fred), but not so with the

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-60051552121716416452008-11-10T12:49:00.003-06:002008-11-10T12:58:40.440-06:00

My friends tease me as I creep down Lakeshore Drive like a granny obeying the posted speed limit. Too casually our culture talks about being hit by a metaphoric bus. My 20-something cancer diagnosis turned that metaphor into a reality. My mantra now is if I can possibly prevent more bodily harm to myself and others, why not? Sometimes it does feel dangerous though inching along at the speed

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-63366857576110235262008-11-08T12:49:00.003-06:002008-11-08T13:01:19.277-06:00

Okay, so you are too sick to stay in school. Yeah, so you are too weak to go to work. That doesn’t mean that you have to halt your education or give up on having goals. When I was glued to the sick bed, I still wanted to make to-do lists, keep my mind active, and feel productive. Enter Ken Burns.Ken Burns is not just an affect on iPhoto. He is one of the most notable documentary filmmakers

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-91551052048576090482008-11-06T14:40:00.011-06:002008-11-07T01:53:37.041-06:00

“Lately I feel like an astronaut out on a space walk -- constantly praying the tube attaching me to the ship doesn't snap and send me flying into outer darkness.”This quote from the first paragraph of Everything Beautiful in the World is evidence enough that it is time to ditch the didactic pamphlets from the American Cancer Society written for cancer patients who are raising teens. Pick up

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-31606131913378106462008-11-05T00:40:00.003-06:002008-11-05T00:45:49.827-06:00

Eight years ago I was diagnosed with cancer at age twenty-seven. Eight years ago George W. Bush also became President of the United States. I’m not delusional enough to believe there is a connection between these two events, however, in the history of my own personal life, they are deeply entwined.November 4, 2000, I was lying in bed three days post-surgery. My thyroid and 30 tumors were

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-92181974153287728082008-11-03T09:13:00.003-06:002008-11-03T09:22:33.032-06:00

"Same bottle. Same medication. Same pharmacy. So why does one bottle cost 50% less?" This was the ad copy printed above a photo of two orange prescription pill bottles on a glossy mailer I found in my mailbox. It was sent to me by my insurer, United Healthcare. Inside the mailer is a description of United Healthcare’s inane Half Tablet Program:1. Your doctor writes a new prescription for

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-74857530515194211402008-10-31T16:41:00.003-05:002008-10-31T16:56:02.386-05:00

I work hard. I’m in love. I pour my heart into taking care of my friends and relatives. I show gratitude. I don’t own a TV. I pet my dog. I walk in crunching leaves. I try to eat well. I’m in touch with my emotions. I read. I vote. I educate myself. Shit happens too. And I deal. Whether I want to or not. Whether it is easy or not. Whether there are solutions or not. I don’t concern

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-65404296721946196122008-10-30T21:46:00.004-05:002008-10-30T22:05:33.688-05:00

‘Carry a water bottle with you everywhere,’ is the answer I most commonly hear when I ask young adult cancer patients for practical tips on how to get through chemo. I don’t want to instigate enviro-paranoia, but I do want to talk about solutions to recent news that the chemical in hard, plastic water bottles can interfere with the effectiveness of your chemo.Tara Parker-Pope, healthcare blogger

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-76839764233266644632008-10-28T23:59:00.002-05:002008-10-29T00:08:06.107-05:00

Mammogram: $15 co-payPap smear: $15 co-payTrip to a shrink: $20 co-payState regulations: pricelessMasterCard. Visa. Have you ever noticed that most major credit card companies are headquartered in Delaware or South Dakota? Not shocking. These states have the least stringent regulations for credit card companies.Freedom to choose. This is one of John McCain’s selling points about his

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-39370328012034234782008-10-27T15:49:00.003-05:002008-10-27T15:57:10.044-05:00

I’m not a mail-order bride to-be living in Odessa. I don’t relish gothic rock, have roommates or HIV. I do, however, know what it is like to live with a disease that gives you a more realistic perception of life, and what it is like to butt heads with people who take life lessons from Bruce Springsteen and the power of positive thinking.Curled up under the covers this morning, stoking my

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-31255749662411130382008-10-25T12:21:00.003-05:002008-10-25T12:33:34.612-05:00

Sift through the Cosmo line up of The Hot Bachelors 2008. You’ll see white teeth gleaming on your screen, ripped six pack abs, and brown sugar tans. You’ll also see a boat load of mortgage bankers, sales reps, and for some reason dentists and dental school students. But the hottest of them all (and the rest of the country agreed) is Brad Ludden.A world-class professional kayaker, Brad started

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-82785435152227709172008-10-24T00:11:00.004-05:002008-10-24T00:21:15.796-05:00

Missing a boob but not the one with cancer in it? Yep, it happens. Docs take out the wrong body part by accident. I once met a young cancer patient whose docs removed the wrong lung. Now that is a big damn deal.I learned on the blog post Planning Surgery? Bring A Sharpie, in the Tuesday New York Times, that docs often use disposable pens to write on the body before surgery to ensure removal

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-20544249708794212512008-10-21T00:41:00.005-05:002008-10-21T00:48:47.922-05:00

I felt like a total dork today. I sent the following email to my friends:Hello friends,I've got a favor to ask of anyone who I might be hanging out with this winter. Because of my cancer, my immune system is shoddy. Some winters are worse for me than others; the last two winters I did very well, but this one is already off to a bad start with a cobwebby feeling in my lungs and an off and on

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-4240101247478908352008-10-19T23:37:00.003-05:002008-10-20T00:08:29.287-05:00

The incidences of new thyroid cancer cases are increasing faster than any other type of malignancy. Crack out the Schlitz it’s party time. If you have been recently diagnosed, I am benefiting hugely off of your misfortune. Here’s why.Nestled in my neck, next to my jugular vein and other structures I’m quite fond of, are two tumors. I have thyroid cancer. Eight years and counting. What is

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-56276138480782737982008-10-17T00:01:00.002-05:002008-10-17T00:20:59.350-05:00

Last winter I was riddled with deep fatigue. After some sleuthing, my husband read on my medication insert that grapefruit was a contraindication that caused extreme drowsiness when combined with my medication. I most often chuck those bulky warnings slips in the trash without reading about medication side effects. After swallowing radioactive iodine pills that were quarantined in a hazardous

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-83678123436627889942008-10-16T03:12:00.006-05:002008-10-16T03:31:26.774-05:00

Or did you want to kick McCain in his gold plated teeth too? Maybe I AM overly sensitive. I see the world through the tainted lens of having been diagnosed with cancer at 27 and having had little break from it for eight years.I’ve been one of the 13 million young adults in the United States who lack health insurance because of loopholes and/or unaffordable premiums. I spend my days writing

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-77979035045836009482008-10-15T10:33:00.002-05:002008-10-15T10:40:38.282-05:00

You know the shpeil. Young adult cancer patients have stagnant survival rates, we are the largest group of uninsured adults in America, we have zilch in the way of clinical trials targeted to our specific disease types and biological needs, and most doctors and social workers have no clue what to do with us. Sucks huh? Well lucky for us Dr. Leonard Sender a.k.a. Lenny is doing something about

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-52338234286543915472008-10-14T17:26:00.006-05:002008-10-14T17:46:26.129-05:00

“My body feels like a defective unit on the assembly line,” said Wafa’a Badriyeh, a 24 year old lymphoma patient who I interviewed in my book Everything Changes. I concur. Oddly enough, one of my best remedies for feeling subhuman is to focus on bodies that are superhuman. Time flies when I dive into the body-mind escape of becoming one with dance videos on you tube. If you have wi-fi in the

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-67046294644377185912008-10-10T11:47:00.003-05:002008-10-10T11:53:48.340-05:00

Like Barney Rubble running motionless in a foot powered car, cancer what ifs have plagued my thinking but gotten me nowhere. What if I apply to school and my cancer comes back? What if I plan a vacation and cannot take it?Last summer I was chosen for a choreographic residency that culminated in a performance of a new work. What if I accept this? Start working? Hire dancers? And my cancer comes

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-5156255826735322732008-10-09T12:23:00.002-05:002008-10-09T12:33:49.134-05:00

I was at the doctor’s office today, and when I walked past the hospital gift shop it made me wonder, What was the best cancer gift I received? A clear rubber ball that my friend Mary Lois gave me the day before my first surgery when I lived in San Francisco. I guess super balls are not a good gift good gift for a testicular cancer patient, but I’m a girl so it was all good.When we were kids, my

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-4659385116051041602008-10-08T09:27:00.001-05:002008-10-08T09:31:54.096-05:00

I’m such a geek I google things like cancer and ADA just for fun. This may have been major news, but if it was, I certainly missed it. In the midst of the pandemonium over Palin, and the word on Wall Street, the president signed an amendment to the Americans With Disabilities Act, on September 25. I think these additions could be very beneficial for young adult cancer patients in the

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-81838989062061912102008-10-07T15:32:00.003-05:002008-10-07T15:42:31.941-05:00

Breast cancer is not the most common kind of cancer or the largest killer of women. It only seems that way because we are drowning in the pink froth and foam of October. Five times as many people are diagnosed with skin cancer as are with breast cancer; twice as many are diagnosed with lung cancer as with breast cancer; and more people die of colorectal cancer than of breast cancer. So why has

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-10681112513594924072008-10-06T11:10:00.004-05:002008-10-06T11:34:03.142-05:00

The StoryVisiting my family in Pittsburgh for Rosh Hashanah, I played hooky from synagogue, choosing instead to sleep in and eat brunch at Pamela’s Diner with my 88 year old grandma. In the car, after feasting on pancakes, eggs, and hash browns, I was overcome by a prickly sensation on my face. “Grammy, does my face look funny?” “Honey, you’re turning bright red,” she said. We pulled into

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-46163473802224739892008-10-03T13:17:00.006-05:002008-10-03T13:39:02.703-05:00

I was no clean freak before cancer. But when you rack up 70 plus hours a week on the couch, you begin to notice every dust bunny. I daydreamed about a cancer housecleaning organization, and I just found out my dream has come true.Cleaning for a Reason is a foundation that offers free housecleaning services to cancer patients. They match you up with cleaning services in your area who volunteer

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-48642858347255628922008-10-01T15:30:00.010-05:002008-10-02T12:02:30.145-05:00

Last week, while Republicans and Democrats wrestled over bailouts, there was one thing they did agree upon. Like a page straight out of the The Official Preppy Handbook, pink finally met green with a voice vote in the House approving legislation H.R. 1157, which requires the National Institutes of Health to grant $40 million over the next four years to researching environmental factors that

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-53218027680126074632008-09-27T21:35:00.005-05:002008-09-29T09:35:22.876-05:00

It was a mistake. I have no idea how I got on a small, private list serve for hospital administrators who focus on patient relations. From what I can tell, they are the customer service folks at a hospital. Their job focuses on patient safety, satisfaction, and how to makes sure we don’t sue their asses when the hospital or its employees screw up. I find their emails extremely entertaining. In

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-42309177934852915242008-09-27T15:56:00.006-05:002008-10-01T15:11:06.566-05:00

Homeopathic remedies. The theory is that an intensified dose of whatever is ailing you will rally your body to fight against it. So, if the walls are closing in on you with cancer cabin fever, one way of fighting it is to dive even deeper into your own little secluded existence. And what better, more addictive method of hibernating in your cancer microcosm than starting a blog? Check out

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-68950195373018704622008-09-27T15:28:00.009-05:002008-09-28T12:51:35.776-05:00

What else sucks about young adult cancer besides puking, wrestling with death, and feeling like you may have no future? Carrying around in your purse a plastic day-of-the-week med reminder box that reeks of the nursing home life.For years I have placed on my to-do list the Martha Stewart-esque craft project of attacking my geriatric Walgreen’s pillbox with a bedazzler in an effort to sparkle up

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-36677088176368550922008-09-26T11:04:00.006-05:002008-09-26T11:18:06.529-05:00

Dreams come true. Miracles can happen. There are actually men in the world who despite fear of recurrence, the wicked side effects of hormone therapy, and the sight of scars and blood, fall in love and marry women with cancer. The above pic is me and my husband Shannon on our wedding day. Dreams come true. Miracles can happen. There was actually a man in the world who could not only handle

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-84037017746896116702008-09-25T18:15:00.002-05:002008-09-25T18:18:33.843-05:00

Shocking. While writing my book, I encountered many professionals who deal with pain, healing, and cancer and were often stunned and stumped by my questions about 20 and 30-something patients. There was a total disconnect that our bodies could be so fallible. That yes, we can and do end up as their patients too.Not so with Dr. Diane Meier. She is a palliative care physician who I connected

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-8232015932164632502008-09-22T18:35:00.005-05:002008-09-24T08:19:35.640-05:00

Are the walls closing in on you like Luke, Hans, Princess Leia, and Chewie in the garbage compactor? Does chemo fatigue have you chained to the couch or locked in your house for days on end? I know first hand what it is like to spend weeks and months living like the boy in the bubble. My remedy: rearranging the furniture (come on guys - not like that!)My budget was non-existent, my energy for

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-38398882392783075962008-09-20T14:34:00.004-05:002008-09-20T14:52:49.326-05:00

Thanks Paul Krugman for pointing out to me reason 152 why if I care about cancer I cannot vote for John McCain. But before I launch into Johnny, first a little lesson.Do you know what “market-based health reform” is? Here it is in a nutshell:1. Ditching insurance company regulations so they can vie for, or exclude us from, their business with little to no government oversight. For example,

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-88998504817209998372008-09-19T19:25:00.005-05:002008-09-19T19:39:58.515-05:00

I’m not trying to incite obsessive compulsive disorder. Really, I’m not. I just know that many of us young adult cancer patients have immune systems that are as weak as twigs in a hurricane, and we are looking for new ways to avoid the latest plague. I’d like to share with you my most recent discovery in germ elimination.After nursing my husband through a rather horrific bout of the stomach

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-10416540843179577292008-09-17T16:29:00.005-05:002008-09-17T16:46:12.812-05:00

Whether you were diagnosed with cancer as a kid, teen, or during college, cancer can leave your cash flow high and dry, your credit cards maxed, and your college career at a standstill. Thankfully, loads of foundations and organizations are beginning to recognize this situation. Grants and college scholarship for us young ones with cancer are sprouting up everywhere. Hunting them down, however

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-54130976950961059182008-09-15T20:00:00.006-05:002008-09-16T15:19:01.336-05:00

Gushing or weeping. I know tons of people who get pretty sentimental about cancer, spilling their tears over telethon speeches or Lance.  Me?  Give me a cheesy rock ballad sung by guys with wretched voices, set it to the choreography of slow movement animation, and my tears start to well.I’m so terribly uncool that I have never heard of My Chemical Romance or their song Cancer. And the kick ass

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-33518962871612197622008-09-15T17:13:00.005-05:002008-09-15T17:40:23.735-05:00

A girlfriend. A boyfriend. A best friend. A sib. I write a lot about stumbling around the healthcare world as a young adult cancer patient. But what if you are not the patient? How do those who support us from the sidelines dive into this experience and what is most useful for them to know? I came across some of the best advice ever from a blogger who goes by Krasney.About Krasney: Native

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-78435810950869411062008-09-14T18:52:00.004-05:002008-09-14T19:10:48.169-05:00

Never. Almost never. Sometimes. Often. Always. I confess: I love taking surveys. If you do too, have at The Healthy Communication Survey, created by Dr. Jeong-Nam Kim at Purdue University. Even if you don’t share my strong admiration for surveys, you should take this one anyway. Here’s why:Many reports show the Internet is a good way to obtain information and interact with others who

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-37868610918540391062008-09-12T15:34:00.003-05:002008-09-12T16:19:55.309-05:00

After some disappointing years spent as a starving actor, Chris Blumer turned to a career in drinking. She is the founder of her own wine consulting company called Winediva Enterprises, which provides wine classes, private tastings, restaurant training, and wine writing. Chris was diagnosed with cancer in May of 2008 during surgery for an ovarian cyst. Her surgeon removed all of the tumors and

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-30887842691384469262008-09-11T17:57:00.004-05:002008-09-11T18:08:09.988-05:00

If laughter were the best medicine pharma would go broke and we could pack in the pink ribbon, racing for a cure, and cancer research in general. So perhaps laughter isn’t the best medicine for cancer, but it sure as hell can be a great distraction from it.Next time you can’t get your mind off of treatment, waiting for test results, or your mounting pile of healthcare bills, feast your eyes on

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-52775660805401061292008-09-10T17:25:00.001-05:002008-09-10T17:31:51.998-05:00

SU2Q. Part of Standing Up to Cancer is Standing Up To Quacks too. You know the kind. Carrots cured my cancer, you should try it too. These types of stories are harmless when kept to themselves, but when shared with the general cancer community, I consider them a public health hazard.On September 5, ABC.com began an on-going blog series by a woman who called herself Joyce, who was sharing the

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-7221916647950564682008-09-08T22:52:00.006-05:002008-09-22T17:45:11.016-05:00

On the back cover of yesterday’s New York Times Magazine was an add that read in 26 point font: PROSTATE CANCER SURGERY SO EFFECTIVE, EVEN WOMEN CAN FEEL THE DIFFERENCE. In smaller print it spoke of a new surgical procedure performed at Mount Sinai that results in fewer cases of prostatectomies leading to impotence.From surgical procedures, to attitudes that empower women to pull ourselves up

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-13856761278465332642008-09-08T17:05:00.004-05:002008-09-08T17:29:34.031-05:00

'Obama vs. McCain: Where Do They Stand On Cancer?' was posted by the Lance Armstrong Foundation on livestrongblog.org. The posting included links to position papers on cancer from both the Obama and McCain campaigns. Both candidates tug on the heart-strings of what cancer has meant in their lives, outline bills they have voted for, and dress up their healthcare intentions in broad, pleasing

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-46274714214756518162008-09-07T11:44:00.004-05:002008-09-07T11:57:41.728-05:00

Hours upon hours in a chemo chair. Months of car trips to radiation treatment. 100 forevers racked up in waiting rooms. Too tired, too car sick, too anxious to read but deeply in need of a supreme cancer distraction? Make your time fly with This American Life, a weekly radio broadcast/podcast hosted by Ira Glass that explores bizarre stories about everyday life. It is the kind of radio

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-44116960238598675202008-09-05T19:13:00.005-05:002008-09-06T10:58:33.665-05:00

Ten years ago at an outdoor shopping mall in Scottsdale, AZ, amid pseudo-grass and plasticized trees, my boyfriend (at the time)’s father nudged him in the arm and asked snidely, “Gawd, she’s a carey-ah-grapha?” I wanted to pull him up by his shirt collar and say, “Yes, asshole, I’m a choreographer because I’m good at it and I like it. Don’t make assumptions about my intelligence. If I wanted

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-50680001816738145622008-09-05T16:49:00.005-05:002008-09-05T17:07:18.259-05:00

The best reason to head to Texas is not to clear brush with W. It is to attend Planet Cancer’s Re-Orientation Retreat. Planet Cancer is a great young adult cancer organization, which has been known to talk about vomit and dating in the same breath. I have spent years scouring the country locating young adult cancer resources and this organization is the cat's meow. At the retreat you'll enjoy

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-66196091427951100102008-09-03T13:42:00.004-05:002008-09-03T14:35:08.139-05:00

Today while cancer blog surfing, I came across a blog that cut and pasted an article by Lucy Wong Moi called Cancer Prevention – Keeping Most Cancer at Bay. In the beginning of the article she describes 10 homes near the corner where she lived; 8 of them had family members with cancer. The remainder of her article presents 10 tips on cancer prevention learned in her 20 years as a holistic

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-3800094328852757102008-08-28T09:15:00.006-05:002008-08-28T12:32:06.933-05:00

Imagine this: You have a hacking cough that won’t go away. You try extra sleep, Nyquil, breathing steam, and Halls. This goes on for six months, yet you don’t see a doctor - not because you don’t want to, but you just graduated from the University of Maryland, are working an internship at a local newspaper, plus a part-time job at Office Depot. You don’t have health insurance.But wait. You DO

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-46476864995125072502008-08-27T13:58:00.009-05:002008-08-27T14:38:07.718-05:00

Michigan. University of Illinois. Harvard. My friends proudly wear their college names plastered to their chest. I’ve never felt that much pride for my three undergrad colleges. (Yes, count’em three – can you say transfer student? I have a hard time making up my mind.) George Washington University was a major mistake, while Columbia University was a fantastic incubator for critical thought,

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-49633544975621508872008-08-26T15:24:00.006-05:002008-08-26T17:28:05.365-05:00

In high school, college, even now, I shudder with guilt when I spy a Breast Self Exam (BSE) placard hanging in my friends’ bathrooms. I never do it; I never feel myself up. Yes me, champion cancer patient and advocate. It never occurs to me except for when I’m in a friend’s bathroom and it seems all too complicated to shed my sweater and bra and go to town when I’ve really just run in for a

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-60633805540470352622008-08-25T16:47:00.006-05:002008-08-25T17:45:27.831-05:00

Doing the nasty is not something that oncology doctors and nurses like to talk about. They are happier sticking to white blood cells counts and pet scans. Are most embarrassed to talk about sex? Yes. Are most grossly undereducated about cancer and sex? Yes. Do many docs think you should simply be happy to be alive and sex is just the metaphoric cherry on the top? Yes. Well…. Screw that.I

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-26139491864966160592008-08-22T19:26:00.004-05:002008-08-22T19:47:32.367-05:00

It is hard not to succumb to peer pressure at sixteen when your cool friends are smoking on the back of the bus, swigging Boone’s Farm, or doing the nasty on the game room couch in their parents’ basement. “C’mon, just try it. It’s okay. Everybody is doing it.” But what about peer pressure when you are in your twenties and thirties and everyone around you is simply breathing, living life,

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-73376779815444382572008-08-18T17:03:00.014-05:002008-08-18T23:48:30.152-05:00

This ain’t no chintzy coffee table plug-in ‘Zen’ waterfall from Walgreen’s. Located behind the nurses’ desk in the waiting room at my most recent check up was a six-foot wall of black granite with sheets of water cascading into a pool. The sides of the wall were gold with cut out floral motifs. It goes to show, you don’t have to be a Rockefeller to have a cancer check up at the Rockefeller

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-62804885097490762322008-08-12T18:05:00.005-05:002008-08-12T18:22:16.353-05:00

Piece of cake. A tiny pinch. My first ever biopsy hardly hurt. Were the cancer gods showering me with mercy? No. The doctor screwed it up. He had not plunged the needle in far enough to suck up the cancerous cells. What he thought to be a benign cyst, I six months later learned was 1 of 19 positive tumors floating around in my neck.Doctors: Screw up your billing, screw up your taxes, but do

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-77741363457126826882008-08-09T13:07:00.005-05:002008-08-09T22:44:49.972-05:00

Answer: Eating pork belly and charcuterie at Blackbird. Question: Do you celebrate anniversaries in any particular way? The question was recently asked by a blogger on Planet Cancer, and while she was referring to my cancer anniversary, my husband Shannon and I did celebrate our wedding anniversary three days ago at blackbird, so I’ll pontificate on that first... and then on my cancer

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-31543629372686987052008-08-07T15:00:00.004-05:002008-08-07T15:12:50.339-05:00

Flat as a pancake, cows, and corn. I don’t usually boast about living in Illinois, but today I am proud. Despite his follies, our Governor, Rod Blagojevich, improved a bill that will hugely impact young adults in their twenties and thirties and should serve as an example to other states that are looking for band-aid fixes to our failed health insurance system. Before dousing you with

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-10776675316585446862008-07-21T13:36:00.005-05:002008-07-21T13:50:53.440-05:00

The discovery in Canada of an extremely large margin of error in reading breast cancer pathology slides and the subsequent preventable deaths that occurred have lead to public outrage and the demand for national standards. But don’t think that misreading of pathology slides is only a problem that can occur up north in the land of socialized medicine. The financial push behind our cost

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-7821330900758171322008-07-17T12:00:00.004-05:002008-07-17T12:18:12.130-05:00

See my picture below from the NY Times. “Pills” scrawled in lipstick on my mirror was not a cute styling touch for a photo shoot. I have pill reminders written above every sink in my house, taped to my washing machine, and next to the front door. The heart is a reminder to be kind to myself and not head down the path of feeling like an 85 year old with dementia.My memory sucks. Is it from

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-39181297249795504362008-07-10T02:30:00.005-05:002008-07-10T02:41:42.076-05:00

I’m featured in today’s New York Times Skin Deep column, red faced and all, discussing high-end skin care products designed for cancer patients. The article asks are they ethical or just preying on the misfortune of cancer patients, luring them with pretty packaging and promises? Treatment side effects can range from caustic farts cured by Gas-X to life threatening neutropenia that can land

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-16593143636873959142008-07-08T14:08:00.004-05:002008-07-09T16:01:06.217-05:00

This just out today: Guys dishing about ejaculation and treatment. Sam from the SAM Fund revealing her staggering $287,000 surgeon’s bill. It is finally here - from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a video podcast series for young adults living with cancer. From the get-go there is no confusing this with a geriatric cancer power point presentation; the opening credits look like they were

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-90035242438975233382008-07-03T12:09:00.001-05:002008-07-08T12:17:52.671-05:00

I just got the proof of the cover of my book Everything Changes: Living With Cancer in Your 20’s and 30’s and the background is robins egg blue. I love it. The foreground has three Polaroid snapshots that appear like they are taped to the cover. It got me thinking, if it weren’t the graphic designers but rather me who got to perfectly sum up my cancer career in three Polaroid shots, what would

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-41344537916979224132008-06-23T17:05:00.000-05:002008-07-03T17:07:24.773-05:00

This has a lot to do with cancer. Hold tight. I’ll get to it:I’ve become a White Sox fan in a matter of a week. I live in Chicago and last week went to my first baseball game since I was a child rooting for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Three Rivers stadium with my grandpa. I’ve lived in Chicago for 5 years and never felt at home until I went to the Sox game last week. Is it the proximity to the

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-76107264677645893172008-06-10T16:56:00.001-05:002008-07-03T17:01:48.881-05:00

Okay, I am a married, faithful woman, but I only met my husband three years ago and had cancer for four years before that. Dang there were some desperate times, hormones flying around out of control. Like a divining rod I was just searching for the wellspring all the time! Not like I had the energy (or interest) to be out clubbing or partying, so even a trip to the grocery store held the

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931429381330766356.post-47441448968804601372008-06-03T16:19:00.000-05:002008-07-03T16:27:46.636-05:00

Is it because I ate too much charred BBQ when I was a kid? Because I hung out in abandoned steel mills with my friends in high school? Because I sprayed Miracle Grow on the patio tomatoes plants when I was seven? Do you have cancer because you always stood in front of your dorm room microwave which was right at the height of your nuts? I have talked to young adults in every part of the

Kairol Rosenthalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14176295815173905314noreply@blogger.com