The Liz Army:
A blog

Patient. Patient advocate. Researcher. Student.

There are more than 500 posts here. Use this search to look for something specific. Good luck!

A note about my oldest posts: I began blogging about brain cancer in 2008, at age 29. I had no background or knowledge about healthcare when I started. Please excuse typos and other misconceptions. What you read here is me in real time, like a time capsule.

Liz Salmi 2/18/13 Liz Salmi 2/18/13

Four months at a time: living between brain scans

I feel bad blogging about fear and freak outs because it makes me sound like I get down on myself. This isn't true. I just happen to own a space on the Internet where I am allowed to tell the world that living with a slow-growing brain cancer can be scary sometimes.

Liz Salmi 1/26/13 Liz Salmi 1/26/13

My friend Logan: First person I knew with brain cancer

There is a drum solo in the song. As cheesy as it sounds, the solo (at the 4 minute 5 second mark) is actually really cool, and is a complete extension of Logan's personality: quirky, creative and lacking in ego. For some reason there is a cowbell in it. And it all makes complete sense because it came from the mind of Logan Whitehurst.

Liz Salmi 12/9/12 Liz Salmi 12/9/12

Do I have neuropathy? Something is waking me up at night

Over the past two months I've been woken up in the middle of the night by a weird sensation. It feels like I bumped my elbow super hard, but instead of the sensation being in the elbow it is everywhere. And only on the right side. And this sensation makes it hard for me to stay still. I am jumping out of my skin.

Liz Salmi 11/16/12 Liz Salmi 11/16/12

Students needed: specializing in the field of brain tumors

Long story short, Christi and Super Awesome Nurse are in the middle of getting all the paperwork filed so Christi can study with Super Awesome Nurse and hopefully (fingers crossed) become another super awesome nurse in the field of neuro-oncology.

Liz Salmi 10/21/12 Liz Salmi 10/21/12

Questions submitted for the 2012 National Brain Tumor Society Summit

Before I left for the National Brain Tumor Society's annual summit I asked The Liz Army blog readers if you had questions you would like me to ask doctors and health care professionals I would presumably meet at the event.

Liz Salmi 10/8/12 Liz Salmi 10/8/12

What do you want me to learn at the National Brain Tumor Society Summit?

If I am going to be surrounded by the best and brightest in the world of brain tumor research and advocacy, what do you hope I learn? What information do you want me to bring back to all of you so you can read about it here on the blog?

Liz Salmi 9/30/12 Liz Salmi 9/30/12

Lift with your head: the other 90% of my brain

I strongly believe in the power of advocacy as an important role in brain tumor survivorship. But advocacy only stimulates the 10% of my brain. There are many other parts of our brains--parts controlling crucial functions like heartbeats, muscles, balance, movement, the respiratory system, etc.--that require stimulation and use. That is the part of my brain I am just now starting to put to use and challenge for the sake of healing.