APPENDICURE

Innovations in the Treatment of Appendix Cancer

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Author: Colleen Bailey

  • Anchors

    Anchors

    Living in the in-between means learning how to stay grounded when nothing feels certain. In this final part of her series, Appendicure member Coleen shares what it means to find—and become—an anchor while living under active surveillance. If you’ve ever felt like you’re drifting, this one will stay with you. 🧡

  • DON’T TELL ME I’M LUCKY

    APPENDICURE · LIVING IN THE IN-BETWEEN · PART 4 OF 5 The Misunderstood Reality of “Luck” in Cancer When I speak openly about my experiences, I often feel dismissed. Even among the medical and cancer communities, I have been told I was “lucky,” as if having a rare disease that requires constant monitoring is a…

  • APPENDICURE · LIVING IN THE IN-BETWEEN · PART 3 OF 5

    Alone with my thoughts, on the edge of what I know… THE QUESTIONS THAT WON’T LET ME GO. When logic fails and the mind searches for someone to blame The questions start quietly. Then they repeat. Again. And again. Was it my fault? Could I have done something differently? Why didn’t I have any symptoms?…

  • Navigating Loss After Cancer Surgery

    Navigating Loss After Cancer Surgery

    The surgery didn’t just remove organs. It removed identity. It removed certainty. It removed parts of me I didn’t know were tethered to my sense of self. In Part 2 of Living in the In-Between, I write about the scar, the grief, the loss of my name — and the quiet loss of my dog…

  • The Day Before, I Was Fine

    On waking to a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis and the 24 hours that changed everything… YOU HAVE CANCER. These words didn’t just land. They crashed through me, leaving me numb — suspended somewhere between disbelief and fear. My heart was racing. That Apple Watch I’d never thought to silence kept going off, bearing witness. Less…