Catherine Gigante-Brown

Catherine Gigante-Brown

Bio

Catherine Gigante-Brown is a freelance writer of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Her works have appeared in Time Out New York, Essence and Seventeen. She co-wrote two biographies for Prometheus Books and her short stories appear in fiction anthologies. Catherine’s first novel, The El, is available from Volossal Publishing. You can learn more about her on her website.

Catherine Gigante-Brown Articles

“Your left ovary is fine,” the nurse practitioner told me over the phone. “But you have a cyst the size of an orange on your right ovary.” Image: Cathy Brown.

For The Girls: A Fond Farewell To My Ovaries

I thought cancer was behind me. Until I had a weird pain near my left ovary which lasted for several days. It felt a lot like ovulation...Only, at 56, that train had left the station a long time ago.

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My OCD Kitchen

I’m sure you’ll find it a delicious and well-stocked place. There are just a few rules

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Americans spend too much time working and not enough time relaxing.

Working It: How Work Sucks For Everyone In America

The overinflated American work ethic is slowly killing us. It’s constantly pushing us to do more — put in longer hours, check business emails on personal time, take calls from our bosses when we’re chilling in Cancun.

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Acupuncture Addict

TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) has been around for at least five centuries –– there’s got to be something to it.

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Ticking Time Bomb: Life As A Cancer Survivor

I go for checkups when I’m supposed to: every three months to the oncologist and every six months to the breast surgeon. I go to SHARE support group meetings to bolster myself. I try to get enough sleep, despite the occasional night spent wide-eyed with dread.

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David with his first Mohawk

In Praise Of The Mohawk

"Sometimes David wore his hair spiked like a cockscomb. Others, he wore it feathery like a baby chick. He wore his Mohawk to summer camp (exchanging encouraging head chucks with another older camper who sported one, too) and even to Vacation Bible School—no judgment there."

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My Father Never Said I Love You, But I'll Be Different

I realized my father was from a generation that never said those three little words. He was saying he loved me without them. But I didn't realize it then.

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You Can't Go Home Again: A Tale Of A Conflicted Cuban Childhood

I left Cuba in 1949, when I was 11 years old. Back then, I didn't understand why my mother sent me away. I still don't.

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Pictured: A real-life BCB.

What Being A Breast Cancer Bitch Means To Me

BCBs are loud and proud and refuse to go down easy. And quietly. We have things to say. We have things to teach. We still have life to live. And damn it, we are and we will. With one breast. With no breasts. With reconstruction surgery.

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