Confronting cancer webcast

Full videos posted for Salon Core conversation on \"coming out of the sickness closet\"

By Mary Elizabeth Williams

Senior Writer

Published April 4, 2012 6:00PM (EDT)

My oncologist says that whoever came up with the phrase "the gift of cancer" has the worst taste in gifts she's ever heard of. But though it's not exactly a set of car keys under the seat, cancer has, for the past year and a half, been the gift I've been given. And from an initial malignant diagnosis of melanoma through surgery through a Stage 4 rediagnosis through a last-ditch, Phase 1 clinical trial to a recovery that has stunned the research community, I've shared this adventure with the readers of Salon. And along the way, you've given so much in return. You've told me your own experiences with illness, with the healthcare system, with grief and frustration, and with the ways a shattering experience -- either your own or that of someone you love -- can turn life around. Sometimes even for the better. So it was a unique privilege to get to talk to a few of you recently for a Salon webcast, and answer your questions on life here in Cancer Town. For those of you who couldn't make it live, videos of the full webcast are posted below.

The connections we find in unlikely circumstances are what get us through them. They're a gift. Thank you for it.



By Mary Elizabeth Williams

Mary Elizabeth Williams is a senior writer for Salon and author of "A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles." Follow her on Bluesky @maryelizabethw.

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