Catherine Gigante-Brown

"I was afraid this thing was going to do me in. But I took a deep breath and decided very early on that I would face cancer on my own terms."

What Stephen didn’t know –– what no one knew –– was how weak my knees grew when I pushed through the swinging doors of the ICU.

I dreaded putting him back on Concerta in the fall but I knew I had to. Or did I?

I try. I really do. But whenever I attempt to embrace my husband Peter’s Cuban culture, I always screw up.

Alexa is like a nosy neighbor: She’s always listening. That’s how she can respond when you ask her to do something. So, when you’re getting busy on the kitchen counter — Alexa’s listening. When you’re telling Capital One the last four digits of your SSN — Alexa’s listening. And who knows who else is.

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

Being a little bit chubby is better than being a lot dead.

We’ve pieced ourselves back together in a patchwork quilt of ragged emotions. The aftermath of 9/11 wasn’t easy for us, yet it was much easier than for some. People standing 50 feet away from Peter didn’t come home that night; he did.

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.

You realize pretty soon that everything other than cancer — i.e. missing a train, being late to your dentist appointment — is no biggie compared to the suck factor of chemo.