Cancer

Writing as a commitment device

January 3, 2021

Writing about health challenges can be a means of turning a bad break into something more positive. You just need a “commitment device.”

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Covid, cancer and self-image

December 19, 2020

Healthy and young. Productive member of society. The sexual single. The pious one. The adventurer. What do COVID and cancer have in common? Both can strip away chunks of one’s self-image. What speaks to you?

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Punctured on the way to a flu shot

November 8, 2020

It wasn’t just the needle that left a puncture when I went to my doctor to get a flu shot.  Until last week, I’d never gotten the vaccine for annual influenza before, mostly because, over the course of my 60 years, I’ve sailed through winters without getting particularly sick. But with Covid-19 literally in the […]

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7 mantras to cope with challenging times

October 11, 2020

Seven mantras that can help cope with challenging times. Repeat and rinse, just like the dishes.

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Our coronavirus gap year

July 19, 2020

To cope with the ping pong of good news followed by harrowing aftermath, I’ve started thinking of this time as our “coronavirus gap year.” How Emily Perl Kingsley’s essay “Welcome to Holland” applies to the current pandemi

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Corona calculations for the Seder

April 12, 2020

Our family went to extraordinary lengths to try to be together for Pesach Seder and to keep me, a high-risk patient, safe. Did we succeed?

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Foiled by the flu

February 1, 2020

It was the flu that finally felled me. And for one of the only times in my somber saga of cancer, cataracts and chronic pain, I broke down and sobbed.

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One-eyed bowling

January 19, 2020

I’ve never been a great bowler. Now try doing it with only one eye. Thoughts on growth through loss and overcoming negativity with the rule of four.

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Good news, bad news or no news?

December 22, 2019

“Avoidance is a simple way of coping by not having to cope.” The science behind why we avoid bad news and whether that’s a good coping strategy.

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Running simulations

October 26, 2019

Dwelling on worst-case scenarios can be crazy making. But spinning simulations is also essential to being human, says Prof. Moshe Bar.

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