Khevin Barnes

As I approach my 10-year cancerversary, I reflect on the worst and best experiences.

Lessons happen when you least expect it.

Here's how I learned to talk about my cancer.

New cancer treatments have offered me hope.

I’ve learned that “survivor’s guilt” can be another symptom of our disease.

After being diagnosed with cancer and taking a look at all the stuff I accumulated, I began to think about my priorities in life.

I don’t think of nature as a distraction to my cancer, masking the symptoms or the reality of my disease, but rather as a therapy that offers comfort and serenity with no negative side effects.

Over the years, I have learned that self-image is an important part of the cancer experience and can change day by day.

Communication is key with cancer survivorship, especially for rare diseases like male breast cancer.

If I put all my energy into fighting breast cancer, I’d be bringing the disease into focus every day. Instead, I’m working on outsmarting cancer.

I’m surviving cancer while getting older, too — that means I can no longer do some of the things I did when I was younger.

My choice to not undergo chemotherapy for breast cancer was not an easy one, but looking back, I don’t regret it.

Surviving cancer made me thankful for each day. After all, the human lifespan is limited.

In the immediate instance — and that’s where life is lived — I won’t spend my energy fighting against cancer. But that does not mean I don’t care. 

I was never a gambler … that is, until I was diagnosed with cancer.

Spring has arrived, and along with it has come fresh challenges and new perspectives regarding my cancer survivorship.

Getting men to talk about their breast health is like fishing in an under-stocked pond, so I turn to the advice of my breast cancer sisters.

A man with breast cancer explains how contracting COVID-19 led him to discovering the benefits of slowing down.

A male breast cancer survivor discusses the fear and fabrications created in his head and how he deals with them.

A male breast cancer survivor takes a critical look at the confusing marketing campaigns that surround his disease.

A male breast cancer survivor describes his anxiety and one tool for curtailing it.

Attention to detail is important for cancer survivors, explains a male breast cancer survivor. “Asking guys to examine their ‘chests’ is not only ineffective, but also disingenuous.”

October reminds us that men get breast cancer, too. A male breast cancer survivor shares his thoughts about Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “Controversy creates conversation, and conversation incites action,” he writes.

A male breast cancer survivor asks, “How far are we willing to go for our cause?” He describes the advocacy work of two women who lost loved ones to male breast cancer.

A man with breast cancer recalls his introduction to cancer as a child.

A seven-year cancer survivor writes how the disease is a delicate balancing act and how secondary illnesses can fuel the cancer fire.

A playwright with male breast cancer examines some beliefs that may influence our survival.

A cancer survivor remembers his wife who died of complications from ovarian cancer on Valentine’s Day several years ago. His advice to everyone: Holidays gradually become positive reflections of all that was good before cancer took it away.

As a cancer survivor, I’ve found many reasons to celebrate. Here’s one more.

A breast cancer survivor suggests some ways to warm your winter and survive the holidays in 2020.