My grandmother. My mother. Both had ovarian cancer. Both were diagnosed at age 54. My mom was diagnosed first with breast cancer, then ovarian cancer a very short six years later. Ovarian cancer has haunted my family for 30 years. My grandmother died rather quickly from the disease. She died when I was 8. My…
If there were such a thing as a prostate cancer “poster patient” it would be Denny Simonavice. His experience reflects why men need to: Simonavice was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015 when a six-month follow-up blood test to recheck his prostate specific antigen (PSA) showed his previously elevated PSA had continued to rise. Additional…
Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton said the only disability in life is a bad attitude. If you think 19-year-old Jake Olson has a disability because he is blind, then you have the wrong attitude. Olson lost his sight to cancer as a child. But that hasn’t stopped him from fulfilling his dream of playing college…
It’s been a year since Kentucky got tough on vehicle booster seats, passing a law that states: Any child under 40 inches tall must be in a child or infant seat. Any child younger than age 8 and between 40 and 57 inches must be secured in a booster seat. All children over age…
If you’ve ever had acute bronchitis, this story will sound familiar. Even if you’ve never had bronchitis, reading this may help you gain some helpful insights about the use of steroids in treating common medical issues. Late on a recent Friday evening I felt a bit congested, and my throat had a familiar tickle. “Oh…
If you had to choose between having a stroke or losing your eyesight, which would you pick? It was not quite that black and white for Arlene Hampton, but close, when she was prescribed a daily pill to avoid having a stroke — a pill that caused her to permanently lose vision in her right…
Is your body different now than when you were a teenager? Mine certainly is. A slowing metabolism, longer recovery time, and more aches and pains all come with being an active adult. We know that nutrition plays a key role in staying healthy at any age. Some nutritional needs — such as eating fruits and…
My story starts five years ago. I needed to lose some weight and get in shape. I went to Clarksville Schwinn and bought my first road bike. On one of my trips there, I noticed a flier advertising the Bike to Beat Cancer. The name of the ride quickly had my attention. I asked some…
Suicide leaves a lot of hurt, sadness, guilt and confusion in its wake. The tragic end of one life is the beginning of an emotional tornado that can be difficult to weather for the many loved ones left behind. “How did I not see the signs?” “What could I have done?” are questions with no…
Cancer should only occur in old people — old people we don’t know. It was awful, as little kids, when our grandmom died of lung cancer. That was our frame of reference for the injustice of this disease until Feb. 15, 2016, when our little brother, Owen, died of cancer. He was 16. Owen was…
Brittany and I have been through a great deal to get to this point in our pregnancy journey. I can tell you that throughout your own pregnancy, not everyone will agree with you and your partner 100 percent of the time. But the following points are some advice I feel is important to pass along…
Cancer is no joke, yet designer Emily McDowell found that humor can be a potent source of encouragement and courage for those touched by the disease. In 2015, McDowell, a cancer survivor, created a series of sassy greeting cards that soon became a social media sensation. By focusing on “real cancer truths,” McDowell sought to…