There are moments in survivorship that quietly remind you healing is not a finish line, but rather a lifelong relationship with your body, your mind, and your history. Recently, I went for my annual thyroid ultrasound. A test that, for…
Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month: Reflections from a Survivor and Caregiver
September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month, a time to honor survivors, those currently facing a diagnosis, caregivers, and everyone who supports them. For me, this month is deeply personal. My own thyroid cancer journey began in 2013, and since then,…
Reflecting on 12 Years of Survivorship
Yesterday marked National Cancer Survivors Day—a day to honor those who have faced a cancer diagnosis and to raise awareness about the unique challenges survivors continue to navigate long after treatment ends. It also gave me a moment to pause and…
From Diagnosis to Advocacy: How Thyroid Cancer Transformed My Life
It’s been years since I sat in a doctor’s office and heard the words that changed everything: “You have cancer.” I don’t consciously replay that moment often, but the impact of that day lingers in my life—woven into my routine,…
The Cost of Staying Alive as a Cancer Survivor
My fellow cancer advocate and friend, Trish, recently posted a Reel on Instagram about how much it costs her monthly to get her medication. And it got me thinking about my own costs of survivorship. This topic is particularly relevant,…
Living in Steil Turns 10!
Happy Valentine’s Day and happy anniversary…to my blog. I can’t believe it’s been ten years since I started this site as a cathartic outlet after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2013. What a decade it has been! When I…
How I Combat Scanxiety as a Thyroid Cancer Survivor
One of the things that’s always on my agenda at the start of a new year is to go for my yearly neck ultrasound. In some ways, doing a difficult task at the beginning of the year is like ripping…
The Importance of Advocacy
It’s been a while since I needed to advocate for my own care. A decade ago, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and a lot has changed since then. Thyroid cancer today is treated differently, and patients have more options…
Reflections During Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month
September marks the start of many things. The first day of school, the emergence of Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and a 30-day period devoted to thyroid cancer awareness. While almost anyone will tell you that awareness months have no expiration date…
Scanxiety 2.0
A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about scanxiety. It was, and still is, one of my best-performing posts. I attribute this to the fact that whether or not someone is a cancer survivor, we’ve all experienced a…
Celebrating a Milestone!
It’s official—I hit 10K followers on Instagram on the same day as I celebrated ten years since my thyroid cancer diagnosis. If you’ve been following along since the beginning, I started this site after being diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma…
Why World Cancer Day is Important to Me as a Survivor
This past weekend marked World Cancer Day, a day to recognize the approximately 32 million survivors globally, send support to those who have lost loved ones to this disease, and a time to think about my own diagnosis ten years…
