Author Archives: Sarah Franz

This is a long one. I hope you’ll stick with me. Allow me to set the stage. In fall of 2019 I bought tickets to see an incredible musician, Lauren Daigle, in concert. It was an added bonus that her opener was going to be another of my favorites, JohnnySwim. Concert was set for MarchContinue reading “What do a military veteran, former homeless couple and a cancer patient have in common?”

As timing would have it, I sat with my oncologist and talked through pathology results from surgery on September 30th – the day before Breast Cancer Awareness month kicked off. For those who have prayed about the results, thank you. For those who prayed from day one of my diagnosis that the tumor would disappear,Continue reading “Pathology is back…finally!”

It’s been awhile since I’ve sat down to put words onto {virtual} paper. Honestly, I just haven’t wanted to. I am tired. Some days have felt heavier than usual recently. I am learning to prioritize myself through all of this and doing that has meant spending time in spaces other than this virtual blog (don’tContinue reading ““How are you, really?””

“There are no random acts. We are all connected. You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind.”  This quote comes from one of my most beloved books, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, and I feel like it perfectly sets theContinue reading “She was diagnosed on the same day you were…”

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – one of the hardest parts of cancer is the waiting. Keeping your thoughts in a healthy mental space while you sit in the waiting is hard, and attempting to keep emotions in check can be equally as challenging on any given day. Let’s circle backContinue reading “Patience in the waiting, peace in the decision.”

Within two seconds of hearing the words I had cancer I was dreading the fact I would lose my hair. That’s not an exaggeration. Now granted in that same moment I did not know if my treatment plan would even include chemo, which is the very factor that causes hair loss. But in the momentContinue reading “Hair today, gone tomorrow.”

I’ve had a lot of people ask me what chemo is like, so I thought I would bring you along with me to my third treatment (which actually took place yesterday). Before diving in I have to note the chemo experience is different for every single patient. This is simply my experience. The night beforeContinue reading “Come with me to chemo!”

…and with those words softly spoken into the phone I realized life as I’d known it was changing. The pathology report was positive, which was not the news we were hoping and praying for. Allow me to back up. January 2021: I had my annual exam where they — you know — check for stuffContinue reading ““Breathe. Sarah, I’m going to need you to keep breathing…””

Writing this just shy of a month into this detour chapter of cancer, and I’m finding the horrific c-word to be so much more than a medical diagnosis. This might sound irrational and extreme to those of you reading this, but for me cancer has this far been… Opening the NOTES app on my phoneContinue reading “What is cancer?”

During the first meeting I had with my oncologist he warned me that cancer was a lot of hurry-up-and-wait. I heard what he said, but my gosh I now realize he wasn’t kidding. As I write this I am about three and a half weeks post diagnosis. The call telling me I had cancer quicklyContinue reading “In the eye of the hurricane”