Author: Lance Garrison
Michelle Anderson-Benjamin, a wife and mom of two, noticed back pain and a discharge from her right nipple during the pandemic. She went straight to her doctor, who ordered a mammogram. It was stage I triple-negative breast cancer. Benjamin moved quickly to treatment including chemotherapy and several surgeries. But last year, her cancer returned. This time it was more advanced. Benjamin took the leap and joined a clinical trial. “I call it jumping out of a plane without a parachute because you’re taking a chance,” Benjamin says. “I knew about clinical trials from working in health care, and I also knew…
Well, this week has been an emotional roller coaster. On Sunday, a New York Times/Siena College poll showed President Biden behind Donald Trump in a bunch of battleground states, sending Democrats into a tizzy. Then on Tuesday, voters handed Democrats a string of election victories — the kind they have enjoyed in election after election since Trump was inaugurated in 2017.What’s going on here? Are the polls wrong? Are the Democrats strong but Biden weak? Let me offer a few thoughts:Americans increasingly use polls to vent, not to vote. During the 20th century, when Americans were in a better mood…
Post-cancer stress following breast cancer is real. Learn how it can affect you and what you can do about it.
Since Tuesday’s big Democratic electoral victories, I’ve been seeing some speculation to the effect that the 2024 election may be marked by a reverse coattail effect: that President Biden, whose poll numbers have supposedly been weighed down by a bad economy, may be lifted up by local candidates who have been racking up wins over social issues.Well, I’ve been delving into some economic and political history — which is, after all, most of what we have to go on in such matters — and I’m having some problems with this narrative.First, Biden is not, in fact, presiding over a bad…
After months or years of constant treatments, tests, and oncologist checkups, your time as a breast cancer patient is over! You’re free to start your post-cancer life, and your friends and family are thrilled. But what is that nagging feeling you have? Why are you not as happy as you thought you’d be? Could this be the post-cancer stress you’ve heard about? Lisa Iannucci, a writer from Hudson Valley, NY, recalls her initial feeling of elation after completing treatment for triple-negative breast cancer in 2018. But it didn’t last. She didn’t expect that to happen because this wasn’t Iannucci’s first encounter…
Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for the third Republican presidential debate, held in Miami on Wednesday night. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers and contributors rate the candidates on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 means the candidate probably didn’t belong on the stage and should have dropped out before the debate even started; 10 means the candidate can head to Iowa and New Hampshire with the wind at his or her back. Here’s what our columnists and contributors thought about the debate. Nikki Haley Average: 6.8/10 Did better → 012345678910 Jamelle Bouie On abortion, at…
The end of breast cancer treatment marks a big life change. Find out what you may experience and how to get the most out of life as a survivor.
Broadway, as always, is giving us lessons on language and its connection to music. The stellar new production of “Purlie Victorious,” not seen on Broadway since 1961, is Exhibit A.The show is not a musical, and yet this sterling, once-in-a-lifetime revival almost feels like one. If the production discomfited me in any way it was that every 15 minutes I was waiting for someone to start singing. It was like watching the film “Pygmalion” from 1938 — made before “My Fair Lady” premiered on Broadway in 1956 — and expecting to hear “The Rain in Spain.” And indeed, “Purlie Victorious”…
When you finish treatment for breast cancer, you might have a mix of feelings. Going through treatment is physically and mentally exhausting, with many side effects from chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and immunotherapy. Once the treatment phase is over, is there anything you can do to boost your odds of staying cancer-free?The answer is YES. There’s a lot you can do in your everyday life — in addition to taking any meds your doctor prescribes to help prevent recurrence and keeping up with your screenings.Cancer experts have long advised breast cancer survivors that the same healthy lifestyle habits that have been…
To the Editor:Re “If You’re Going to Win the Nomination, Here’s Step 1,” by Kristen Soltis Anderson (Opinion guest essay, Nov. 8):Ms. Anderson says that many Republicans are open to opponents of Donald Trump who can articulate a new direction for the party, but that those candidates are running out of time to make their case.Ms. Anderson mentions the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley as a viable alternative to Mr. Trump. But in terms of good fiscal governance and foreign policy, I believe that Ms. Haley is even more misguided than Mr. Trump.For example, she has recommended ending the…