I Had Cancer

01/29/2026

I Know What It Means

Cancer.
I know what that word means.
When you live
knowing this thing
inside of you
has caused so much
pain
it’s hard to forget.

I know what it means to be scared,
To tremble at night,
Dreading test results and bad news.
Ignorance is not bliss,
Not when the other option tells a story
Of sleepless nights and nightless stays, all bleeding into
one.
When a simple scan can spell disaster for
your future,
your plans,
your hopes,
your body,
Uprooting everything to hurt.

Mercy Haub, a 16-year-old lymphoma patient, wrote this poem Cancer. I know what that word means.

01/28/2026

Since my womb cancer diagnosis in March 2019, I have been a member of the cancer club. It is a club nobody wants to be a part of and I would gladly hand back my membership, but that is not possible. Once you have been diagnosed, you are a lifetime member. Even after the all clear, the fear of IT coming back lingers especially when you have inherited faulty genetics that puts you on a higher risk factor.

Within a few short months, that frankly passed in a total blur, I was not only diagnosed with stage 3C2 womb cancer but also learnt I had Lynch syndrome. Lynch syndrome increases the carrier’s risk of certain cancers, including womb and colorectal cancers. It is an inherited genetic mutation and often families with the syndrome have a history of above mentioned cancers.

Since my womb cancer diagnosis in March 2019, I have been a member of the cancer club.

01/26/2026

Meet Kim Vandermeer, a Korean-American model and Stage II breast cancer survivor. Learn her story and how she continues to advocate for others in the breast cancer community.

"After remission, I struggled with being “cancer-free.” I didn’t feel joyful or like celebrating. Even as I’ve reached a year of being cancer-free, I still struggle with feeling gratitude. Two things can be true at the same time: I’m still grieving, and this year has been a grieving process where I’m struggling between “getting over” the grief and trying to feel grateful that I’m cancer-free. When I look back at photos of my time in active treatment, I realize that I went through so much. I’m still processing everything my body went through last year, and I can’t believe that I did all of that."

Meet Kim Vandermeer, a Korean-American model and Stage II breast cancer survivor.

12/30/2025

Facing a new year in the cancer community can bring emotions ranging from celebration, to grief, to hopefulness. What are some of your resolutions for 2026?

IHadCancer's free 2026 Cancer Awareness Calendar is available! Sign up for our newsletter (link in comments) to download. If you are already a subscriber, keep an eye on your inbox later this week.

#2026

10/29/2025

Meet Lilly Ribner, a Stage I Triple-Negative Breast Cancer survivor, mom of two, advocate, and someone still learning how to piece together a beautiful, meaningful life after cancer.

"When I first found my lump, life already felt like it was spinning with change. We had just moved from Oregon to California to be closer to family. I’d left my corporate HR job of twelve years because I was completely burned out and craving something that felt more authentic. Around the same time, my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. And then, out of nowhere, cancer joined the mix."

Meet Lilly Ribner, a Stage I Triple-Negative Breast Cancer survivor, mom of two, advocate, and piecing together a life after cancer.

06/26/2025

Thank you Leah Alexis for constantly sharing your story and raising awareness about skin cancer!

“Seven summers ago, she was soaking in the season like any other—warm days, sun-kissed skin, and no reason to think anything was wrong.

But beneath the surface, something was quietly growing.

Cancer had already begun to take root on her chest, completely unnoticed; the deadliest type of skin cancer, melanoma.

There were no warning signs, no dramatic moment of discovery—just the slow, silent progression of something that would change her life forever.

Looking back now, it’s hard not to wonder how different things might have been if she had known.

But hindsight doesn’t change the past—it fuels the mission to protect others from the same silent danger.”

06/18/2025

IHadCancer is pleased to be a Community Partner on Cancer and Careers 15th Annual National Conference on Work & Cancer, being held virtually on June 27th! This FREE online event explores the complexities patients and survivors face as they balance their cancer treatment and recovery with work. Topics include balancing treatment and work, disclosure decisions, job search, using artificial intelligence strategically, building physical and mental resilience, and more. CEs/PDCs available.

Details & Registration at http://www.cancerandcareers.org/conference

06/03/2025

"My reflections… my feelings as I went through what I felt may well have been the last time I saw anything."

Random acts of kindness have the power to change lives., Random acts of kindness have the power to change lives.

06/02/2025

"As weird, atypical, and abnormal as this sounds, cancer was one of the best things that have ever happened to me. It taught me what it meant to be a fighter, to face something head-on and give everything you have towards a singular goal. I grew up more in those 18 months than I had in my entire 18 years leading up to my diagnosis because I had to learn to live even when I felt like I was dying."

I am one of about 4,800 people diagnosed with some form of cancer every day in the United States., I am one of about 4,800 people diagnosed with some form of cancer every day in the United States.

06/01/2025

"I had the MRI and returned home, not expecting to hear any results for a few days. That same day around noon, I got a call from my doctor saying that the results had shown a “nodule” in a very dangerous spot. I was told that I needed to get to the emergency room for another MRI immediately. This news was paralyzing to my entire body. "

Day that I found out that I had a brain tumor., Day that I found out that I had a brain tumor.

05/31/2025

"My doctor at the time listened to my heart and jumped out of his chair. “Are you okay?! Would you like some water?! I don’t mean to startle you… but I need to get a nurse in here to be sure I know what I am hearing”. He went and got the nurse. She listened to my heartbeat and asked if I needed to lay down. “No! I just want to know what’s going on!”, I responded. "

18 things I wish I knew before & after I got diagnosed with B Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma at 17 years old and fresh out of high school., I got diagnosed with B Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma when I was 17 years old and fresh out of high school.

05/30/2025

"Lymphoma? No. Cancer happened to other people."

Tests revealed Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL), a rare and aggressive form of the disease., Tests revealed Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL), a rare and aggressive form of the disease.