Part 1: A Skateboarding Lesson to Remember

I got the call while I was in the local Coop supermarket, picking up a few essentials for dinner that night. It was a Wednesday in October, and I had had minor surgery the previous Friday to remove a cyst from my ovary. Thankfully, my doctors had already…

Part 2: The Strength of Ten Grinches, Plus Two

The next morning, Bruce and I packed the kids off to their last day of school before the October holidays. They were excited because we were due to fly to America the following day to visit family and friends, followed by a trip to the Kennedy…

Part 3: The Best Case Scenario

The next morning, still waiting for the CT scan results, we headed to the airport. The boys were riding on suitcases, gliding around the terminal with glee, unable to contain their excitement. Bruce and I exchanged glances — a secret language between us, invisible to the…

Part 4: Hubris and Delusion

Back home in Switzerland, I went alone to the appointment with the lead surgeon, Dr B. I knew that she had been Chief Physician for Gynaecological Oncology at two hospitals, which reassured me, at least on paper. I made it to her office, and she greeted me with a big smile and…

Part 5: Pulp Fiction

My brother, Corey, arrived on Thursday. On Friday morning, we drove to the hospital. A hospital concierge walked us to the pre-op station and said my brother could not go in. I remembered being in this exact spot two weeks earlier, for my first surgery. At that time, I was in a great mood…

Part 7: Paperbags Underfoot

I had trouble eating while I was in the hospital. Being home was no different. Even half a cup of clear broth could feel like an intestinal blockage, and I made three separate phone calls to my doctors, tearfully explaining that I couldn’t eat. I felt like I was starving. The…

Part 9: Life Insurance, Chemo 2

I wanted to continue to work. I didn’t want to recede from life into a bubble of cancer treatments. However, I was also unable to predict my future state. I couldn’t decide if, from a business perspective, it was better for me to stop working so they could replace me with a…

Part 6: I’ll Take It

Bruce and the kids landed back in Zurich on Wednesday, exactly two weeks since that fateful call in Coop and five sleeps since my surgery.

The lead surgeon, Dr. B, came to see me later that day. She announced that she came with news, and then she shared the…

Part 8: Shampoo and Tampons, Chemo 1

My last meal was Saturday dinner. Tuesday morning I packed my chemo bag. At the chemo centre, they took blood from my finger to measure my white blood cells, red blood cells, leukocytes and iron (and about 20 other things) to make sure I was strong enough to go…

Part 14: Epilogue

Looking out at the world is a little different after a cancer diagnosis. It reminds me of my son, who, when he was very young, always used to want me to sit in the bathroom with him while he did his business. I found this cute and usually enjoyed our toilet visits, but sometimes it wasn’t welcome…