Editorial: Make a Plan, Talk About It
Here is help in keeping impaired drivers off the roads.
The holiday party season is upon us, and with it an increase in drinking and driving. It’s up to you to make a plan to get home safely.
Column: ‘Quality of Life’
If I’ve heard it once – from my oncologist – I’ve probably heard it a dozen times over the last nearly-six years.
Letter to the Editor: Two Ideas to Address Rape
To the Editor: As many of us recoil from the recent UVA sexual assault article in Rolling Stone, tremendous accusations are being thrown at the university and others like it across the country. While UVA is not innocent and its infamous privileged “party culture” is partly to blame, there are two clear pieces of the story that no one seems to be addressing.
Editorial: Be Part of Children's Connection 2014
Annual edition showcases youth art and writing.
During the last week of each year, The Connection devotes its entire issue to the creativity of local students and children. The results are always remarkable. It is a keepsake edition for many families.
Column: Since It Ain’t Broken...
Apparently, at least in the near term, we’re (meaning my oncologist) not going to fix it. And by fix it, I am referring to my chemotherapy infusion, which will continue to be every three weeks, as it has been for almost six years; save for a year or so when I was able to take pills at home, and on-site infusions were not necessary.
Chantilly Letter: Many Reasons To Give Thanks
Mariam Sadia Sosan Malik, Chantilly
Gobble, gobble, it’s near that time of year again. The time we all check our Smartphones to see who has received the most likes on their turkey feast.
Column: ‘Shrinkage’
Not exactly “like a frightened turtle” as “similed” on a long-ago Seinfeld episode by Jerry himself; this shrinkage is the good kind, the kind you hope a radiological oncologist characterizes when viewing your CT Scan (computed tomography).
“Shrinkage”
Not exactly “like a frightened turtle” as “similed” on a long-ago Seinfeld episode by Jerry himself; this shrinkage is the good kind, the kind you hope a radiological oncologist characterizes when viewing your CT Scan (computed tomography). Specifically, the exact kind of scan I get every three months to assess and evaluate the tumors, and fluid, in my stage IV, non-small cell cancer-affected lungs.
Editorial: Holidays Are About Giving
Give thanks and share; tens of thousands of families around us are in need.
The holidays are about giving, and giving thanks. The holidays are about children and family. The holidays are about sharing, about joy. The holidays are about being thankful and about faith and appreciation. The holidays are about alleviating suffering for others. Surrounded by the bounty in so many neighborhoods in Northern Virginia, many of us see little signs of the massive unmet needs here. But in Fairfax County Public Schools, more than 52,000 of the students are poor enough to receive free or subsidized meals, a significant measure of poverty.
Letter to the Editor: Help Disadvantaged Students
To the Editor: I found it very interesting that the Chantilly Pyramid Minority Student Achievement Committee (CPMSAC) [“Only Excellence Is Good Enough,” Nov. 13] is working so closely with the public school system and the community in an effort for bettering the academic successes and potential of minority students.
Editorial: Why Shop Small? Shop Large Locally
Small business Saturday isn’t enough; don’t wait until then, and don’t stop after that.
There is a joy to shopping in local stores at the holidays, to participating in community traditions and celebrations, to walking along a sidewalk with the streets decked out for the holidays, to being greeted by someone likely to be the owner of the store, to finding gifts that are not mass-produced.
Column: And The “Scancer” Is…
Unknown at this date – Saturday, November 15. In fact, it will be six days from now until we’ll know the results. As it is always scheduled, a week or so after my quarterly CT Scan, we will have our usual follow-up, face-to-face appointment with my oncologist.
Editorial: Thanksgiving Help for Those in Need
Roll up those sleeves and help.
This week is the week to jump in to help the many organizations that will help needy families through the holidays. Here are a few ideas of how to help, but the opportunities are limitless. More than 236,000 people living in the area do not have access to enough food to sustain an active, healthy life for all members of their households, according to Catholic Charities. That is to say, more than a quarter of a million people, including many children, go hungry on a regular basis.
Column: Excuse Me
Early on during my indoctrination/assimilation into the cancer-patient world in which I now reside, I remember asking a fellow cancer patient/friend if I could use cancer as an excuse for whatever it was needed excusing (directly or indirectly related), and she said: absolutely, “blame the cancer.”
Column: Dos, Don’ts and What-Ifs
Instinctively, I am not the most open-to-new-ideas/new-things kind of person. However, an unexpected diagnosis of stage IV, non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at age 54 and a half – along with its equally unexpected “13-month to two-year prognosis,” changes a few things.