Wilms Tumor

I am a survivor, a Wilm’s tumor cancer survivor. “Congratulations!” they say. “You’re lucky!” they say. “41 years? That’s amazing!” they say. “Wow, you’re such an inspiration!” they say. But am I? All the poking and prodding. All the body deformities. All the doctor appointments. It’s exhausting! It’s stressful! It’s scary! How many times can [...]

My grandfather died on December 21, 1982. The shortest — and darkest — day of the year. Cancer, of course. My brothers and I drove with our dad from Cleveland to Massachusetts for the funeral, where my mom had been for the previous week. It was the first time we’d ever not spent Christmas in our own [...]