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Survivorship (Or, Dealing with Long-Term Side Effects)
What does survivorship mean? It meant one thing to be pre-cancer and another thing entirely after. Before, it meant not getting cancer again. After? How to deal with the long-term side effects of cancer treatment. I read this NYTimes Opinion piece: “It Takes a Lifetime to Survive Childhood Cancer.” No, I’m not a child. But, I am a “young breast cancer survivor.” (You hear that an effing lot, how “young” you are.) Hopefully, I have a long life ahead of me. As a “young” patient, doctors throw the book at you. They don’t often deviate. You have this type of cancer, then here’s your regimen. Overtreatment of cancer doesn’t often…