Belonging beyond worlds
April 27, 2025
Published by Synkroniciti Magazine in Volume 6, Number 3, Katherine McDaniel, editor (September 2024)
Tag: Diagnosis
Wild Garlic
June 12, 2024
As I sit in the woods, a strong smell fills the air,Pungent wild garlic; eyes close, I am there.On this bench, two years prior, where a call had me picked,Like a rose in her prime, to be told she was sick.A tumour, they’d told me, with no time for thinking,Just garlic’s strong stench; like my … More Wild Garlic
Choices?
April 18, 2024
Recently, someone asked me about my choice to do chemotherapy, knowing all the brutal side effects that go along with it. I didn’t know how to respond – my overwhelming feeling was that it wasn’t a choice. Not one made after hours of careful contemplation and research and weighing up the options anyway. My diagnosis … More Choices?
It’s life Laura, but not as you know it
February 10, 2024
I’m celebrating my 31st birthday today, but in the world of cancer, I just turned 1. Give or take a month or two, it’s been a year since I entered remission. When I turned 30 last year, I assumed I could just throw myself back into life as normal – after all, I had just … More It’s life Laura, but not as you know it
On Young Adults & Cancer
July 15, 2023
Thoughts on Confronting Cancer in your Twenties A decade of transition and uncertainty If you had to pinpoint one word to define your twenties, it would probably be transition. I have friends who are in full-time education, full-time work, full-time work and part-time education, living alone, living with friends, living with family, renting, meeting with … More On Young Adults & Cancer
Cancer for introverts
May 28, 2023
Apart from having cancer in the first place, the cancer experience felt like my worst nightmare. In fact, it was my worst nightmare. Shortly after my diagnosis, I quickly realised that cancer is LOUD. It felt like the cruellest diagnosis for a highly sensitive, overthinking, introvert like me. As a society, we’ve collectively decided that cancer is … More Cancer for introverts
On living in the moment when nobody else is
May 26, 2023
If you’re aged between, say, 16 and 30, and you’re engaged in small talk at a social event, here’s what happens: questions. A lot of questions. Questions like: What GCSEs are you taking?What A-Levels are you taking?What extra-curriculars are you doing?Have you started to learn to drive?Who are you taking to prom?What do you want … More On living in the moment when nobody else is
Riding high in April, shot down in May
May 4, 2023
What does a cancer diagnosis feel like? One of my favourite Michael Bublé covers is “That’s life”, originally by Frank Sinatra. One of the lyrics is “…you’re riding high in April, shot down in May” – a line I’d never given much thought to until 2022 happened. Here’s me riding high in April… …and shot … More Riding high in April, shot down in May
An A-Z of Chemo for Lymphoma
April 29, 2023
“After this cycle I’m taking the PET-CT results to the MDT to discuss ABVD vs BEACOPP efficacy chance on EFS. We also need more filgrastim to help prevent neutropenia and an X-ray and ultrasound to check PICC line positioning.” When I entered the cancer world, a few months prior to my consultant uttering these words, … More An A-Z of Chemo for Lymphoma
This Is Your Everest
April 19, 2023
As I sat waiting in the oncology ward today, a man sat in front of me wearing a hat that said “THIS IS YOUR EVEREST.” Interesting, I thought. I suppose cancer treatment is the toughest endurance test many of us will face. It does seem right to compare it to summiting Everest, the highest mountain … More This Is Your Everest
Laura writes... 