It’s been a month of crafting stories and posts to share during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I poured my heart and soul into every one. Some were long. Some were short. Some came easily, while others took hours and plenty of tears to write. The post I wrote about my dear friend and Art Therapist, Tracy Councill (Day 18), took me five hours. There were tears and deep thoughts about her life and the thousands of children and families she touched through art—helping chase a

On this second-to-last day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, I want to shine the light on the people who so often stand just outside of it: The caregivers. Of course, my experience comes from childhood cancer. For years, Bill and I cared for Ryan while also trying our best to make sure Olivia had the childhood she deserved. A definite balancing act, with more balls in the air (and spinning plates) than we could count! But caregiving certainly doesn’t belong only to the can

I decided to read a favorite chapter from The Focused Fight - Chats from the Other Side of the Bed (Chapter 15 - Seeds of Advocacy). It’s become a fan favorite (or at least, several people who told me liked this chapter a lot). Chapter 15 has more, of course, and so does our story. But maybe this small glimpse from the other side of Ryan’s hospital bed is enough for today. When I wrote this book, I wanted people to understand that childhood cancer doesn't happen only to the c

It’s fairly typical that siblings of a child with cancer in the family get a raw deal. The ones that are healthy and still need attention from parents and other adults in their lives may think they are overlooked, and are a lot of the times, that’s the case however, never intentional. It’s because the kid with a cancer diagnosis and all its craziness that turns families upside down, trumps the healthy kid(s) every time (or most every time). At least that is what I saw in my e

Volunteerism is the practice of freely giving your time, energy, and skills to help others or support a worthy cause without expecting financial payment. It is the silent engine that keeps many nonprofits going and doing their thing. My entire family has taken on many volunteer projects over the years, mostly helping organizations focused on childhood cancer. For us, it is that Post-Traumatic Growth and Gains. The term PTG was coined by Dr. Richard T. Tedeschi, Ph.D., a profe

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. - Mark Twain In the past few videos and posts, I’ve mentioned how we got through tough moments and what helped us cope (receiving a card, postcard, or some chocolate chip cookies. However, we also had to adjust on our own and advocate for Ryan’s needs quite often. Chats From the Other Side of the Bed Through Ryan’s first protocol, and well into the second one, I felt versed enough with childhood cancer and the treatments (rememb

There is something special about sending and receiving a handwritten note. Thankfully, while we were dealing with Childhood Cancer with Ryan, friends and family often reached out to us via a card or letter sharing how much they were thinking about us. I wish I could have bottled that feeling. There is nothing like it. It’s being special. It’s being thought of when the world is spinning out of control. It’s feels like love…because cancer is loveless. The video below is with my

Today was one of those wonderfully full days—time spent visiting with my college friends, catching up, laughing, and enjoying being together. Summer is still going strong here in South Haven, Michigan, and I’m glad to be part of the BGGGW (Bowling Green Girls Gone Wild) week. And suddenly…it’s late! (We walked, went to the local Farmer’s Market, beach, lunch at a teammates house, and dinner at our Airbnb rental, talking, and lots of laughing). But I made a promise to myself t

What a profound day in the Childhood Cancer Awareness realm. As usual, we left early and encountered the usual snail-paced DC traffic...

Speaker, writer, collector of stories. Always curious. Occasionally hilarious, Heat Dzizcek is the CEO at Cancer Conversation SOS - and...

I had the pleasure of having a meaningful conversation this morning with SL Program Chair, Angela Ashman. She is a sibling of a cancer...

Olivia Tomoff was a four-year-old little girl when her brother Ryan was diagnosed with Leukemia. She has been the unsung heroine in our...

Cancer Survivor, Writer, Musician, Teacher, and more, Heat Dziczek shares the first of five of her cancer cards - 'It's Okay Not to Be...

Let me start by stating the obvious—I am not a professional audio recording artist. But I do have the chutzpah, Google, and YouTube to...

There may be an art to squeeze a (2) large chapters (in minutes, that is) into today's blog, plus the back matter of the book, but I am...