I signed a three-book contract six months before I was diagnosed with throat cancer. I could not, would not let cancer define the career for which I had worked so hard.
One hospital stay left me confined to the walls of a very small room, no one allowed to enter without wearing a mask, gloves and a gown. But what quarantine couldn't take away was the connections I could make with my writing.
Keeping a journal can help a cancer patient express deeply held feelings that may be too difficult to voice aloud, and help a patient to navigate a complex inner landscape that must be traveled alone. And starting a journal requires just a few minutes a day.
In a matter of three short weeks I went from your average comedian tweeting about Mitt Romney and Fresca to your average comedian tweeting about having cancer.
