Cancer a winding path of uncertainty Published by The Day – October 03. 2015 12:01AM Melissa Babcock Part four in a series on life after a breast cancer diagnosis at age 31. When you’re going through cancer, or any personal challenge, it’s priceless to have others cheering you on. But the most helpful and comforting […]

A celebration amid uncertainty Published The Day – November 16. 2015 12:01AM Melissa Johnson Lots of good things have happened since my last column. I married my patient and loving fiancé, Travis, who’s been with me since long before my diagnosis and cared for me relentlessly through three months of chemo. We had a brilliant […]

Radiation Therapy The clean-up crew Published by The Day – December 24. 2015 12:24PM Melissa Johnson The journey continues. And it is a journey, even though some may think that word is too soft to describe the grueling, undesirable process of cancer treatment. To be sure, I’d rather be driving across the country on an […]

Bang a gong, the cancer’s gone Published by The Day  – January 29. 2016 5:03PM Melissa Johnson An ongoing series about life after a breast cancer diagnosis at age 31. Treatment is over and I’ve been thrown from the nest. Well, not really, but that’s what it feels like sometimes. My 30th and final radiation […]

PTSD – the cancer version Published by The Day – February 26. 2016 12:15PM Melissa Johnson These post-treatment days are golden. My energy has come roaring back. Chemo-induced neuropathy lingers a bit in my feet, but I bought some new clothes and wore jeans and heels instead of yoga pants and slippers in public for […]

Menopause at 32 Published by The Day – March 25. 2016 3:01PM | Updated March 25. 2016 4:42PM Melissa Johnson An ongoing series on life after beating breast cancer at 32. Like Alzheimer’s disease and going gray, cancer is stereotypically considered an elderly person’s issue. There’s good reason to think that: According to www.cancer.gov, an estimated […]

Taking life back from cancer Published by The Day – April 29. 2016 12:03PM | Updated April 30. 2016 10:12AM Melissa Johnson An ongoing series about life after a breast cancer diagnosis at age 31. This column isn’t about me. It’s about two other cancer patients, one whom I know intimately because I share half his […]

Cancer anniversaries Looking back a year after diagnosis Published  by the Day May 27. 2016 1:45PM | Updated May 27. 2016 5:07PM Melissa Johnson May 12 marked one year since I received my official breast cancer diagnosis from my surgeon. The relief of banging the gong after my final radiation treatment last winter has faded into […]