Contributors

Chester Freeman

Chester Freeman is a retired college and hospital chaplain. He is also a teddy bear artist whose creations are highly collectible. He travels and lectures on the therapeutic value of teddy bears. He is the author of a children’s book

Martha Carlson

Martha lives in Illinois and was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in January 2015. She has a husband and three children, ranging in age from 12 to 18, a dog and a lizard.

Meredith Sherman

For the past two years, Meredith has worked as a nurse practitioner at Roger Williams Medical Center in the Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program. She also has experience with oncology and hospice care. Meredith lives in Rhode Island with her dog, Jasper.

Sarah DeBord

Sarah DeBord was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer at age 34. In the years since, she has turned her diagnosis into a calling, and become an advocate for other young adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer and parents with young families facing cancer. She works as a communications and program manager for the Minneapolis-based

Brenda Denzler

Brenda Denzler is a writer and editor living in North Carolina. She received her doctorate from Duke University and worked as an editor at UNC-Chapel Hill before she was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in 2009. Since then, she has devoted a great deal of her time and energy to understanding and writing about cancer, cancer treatment and the impact of pre-existing PTSD on the ability of doctors to give and patients to receive medical treatment.

Jackson Pagel

Jackson Pagel is a 17-year-old high school student living in Madison, Wisconsin. At age 15, as a freshman in high school, Jackson was diagnosed with osteosarcoma just below his left knee, necessitating chemotherapy and a leg revision. He has been cancer-free for two years and willingly tells his story, hoping to educate and assist others who may be affected by cancer.

Kelly Irvin

Kelly Irvin is a multi-published novelist and former newspaper reporter who worked in public relations for more than 20 years. She retired from her day job in 2016 after being diagnosed with primary lateral sclerosis, a degenerative motor neuron disease, and stage 4 ovarian cancer. She spends her days writing and loving her family.

Shira Zwebner

A native New Yorker, Shira Kallus Zwebner is a communications consultant and writer living with her husband and three children in Jerusalem, Israel. Diagnosed in 2017 with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, she's fighting her cancer battle and blogging about the journey at hipstermomblog.com