The 10 Most Popular CURE Voices Articles of 2020

The CURE Voices program highlights the stories and advice of patients, survivors and caregivers alike who have valuable knowledge and experience with cancer. It is also sometimes an outlet to discuss the challenges of cancer that may get lost in the headlines of the latest approval or just provide a space of understanding.

In 2020, just like everyone else, the contributors had to deal with an ever-changing world while simultaneously dealing with the ongoing challenges of cancer even after treatment is well over. Here are the 10 most popular Voices articles from 2020 for you to revisit.

10. COVID-19 is Stealing Precious Time from Cancer Survivors

In the summer, contributor Jane Biehl wrote about how the changes the COVID-19 pandemic brought about to our daily lives was robbing cancer survivors and patients alike of the precious borrowed time they had. “I feel cheated. I think if we are honest, we all do. Precious time, which we cancer survivors know is fleeting, is flying by and we all feel robbed.”

9. The Elephant in the Room: Cancer Treatment Made Me Clumsier

Felicia Mitchell discusses the lingering ramifications of her treatment for cancer and how she had to find a balance in dealing with her neuropathy and living the life she wanted to at home. “For a long time, I refused to acknowledge the lingering effects of neuropathy. I found a way to joke about it and told everybody I was clumsy. To acknowledge the elephant in the room, I had to admit I needed to explore balance further,” she writes.

8. Old Photos Give Cancer Survivors Snapshots of Their Former Selves

“We can never predict our future of course, but looking back, there will always be snapshots of our former selves. One of the keys for me in accepting my disease as something more than simply an unfair curse was in seeing those snapshots of me before I had cancer as a separate life in a sense,” writes male breast cancer survivor Khevin Barnes as he explores his old life with his new reality.

7. Clearing Away Clutter — and the Fear of Another Cancer

Recurrence is a thought never far away from the mind of anyone who has been touched by cancer. Write Laura Yeager discusses that fear as she looks to declutter both her house and her own fears.

6. The Big Dates After Cancer Takes A Loved One Away

After cancer took her husband away, caregiver Erica Finamore discusses the importance of celebrating the important dates and milestones. Even after cancer has taken your loved one away.

5. Becoming The Supporter Over The Cancer Survivor

Sometimes the cancer survivor finds themselves in the position of supporter, such as the case of contributor Danielle Ripley-Burgess who had to help her friend through a breast cancer diagnosis. “I’ve learned what being a good friend to a cancer survivor takes. And this month, it looks like making sure other breast cancer survivors, get their time to shine.”

4. Don’t Ignore Sleep Problems That Come From Cancer Treatment

Cancer, and subsequent treatments for cancer, come with a host of side effects and lingering issues that stay with you for the rest of your life, but that doesn’t mean you can’t mitigate them. Contributor Martha Carlson discusses why you shouldn’t ignore sleep issues that come from treatment, and some tips on how to counteract them.

3. Triggers That Remind Me of My Daughter's Cancer Are Everywhere

“A cancer diagnosis is a traumatic event for everyone involved, and as with most traumatic events, there are things big and small that pull us back into the distress as if it was happening right now,” writes contributor Debbie Legault as she navigates the lingering emotions from her own daughter’s cancer journey.

2. Weighing The Pros and Cons of Receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine

Given the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a first responder, contributor Tamera Anderson-Hana weighs the pros and cons of receiving the vaccine and trying to find a way past COVID-19.

1. A Final Farewell

After the passing of CURE Magazine co-founder and longtime contributor Kathy LaTour contributor Kim Johnson writes about her brief interactions with Kathy LaTour and how her writing shaped her own.