Lumps & Humps - The Audio Files

Alli Houseworth
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Personal Journals

Hi, I’m Alli. Within six weeks, I was diagnosed with two completely separate cancers: Stage I HER2+ breast cancer and Stage III colorectal cancer. I’m 44. Until then, my health history was… deliciously boring. And then—two cancers. It’s as wild as it sounds. So I started writing about it. And then I thought: not everyone has time (or energy) to read. So this is that—my blog, in audio form. Unfiltered. Honest. Occasionally dark. Sometimes funny. No silver linings. No toxic positivity. Just the truth, as it happens. Welcome to the madness. To see the written word, visit lumpsandhumps.com

  1. 2d ago

    Diagnosis / Treatment Update: Post-LAR, Pre-Chemo 2.0

    Six weeks post-LAR, I’ve been doing everything I can to recover—so I can knocked down again. In this update: getting back to the gym, what my InBody scan says about the muscle I lost during treatment, some new nerve and shoulder weirdness, acupuncture, the current state of my post-LAR poop, and prepping for chemo 2.0. I’m starting six more cycles of 5FU and Leucovorin while continuing Herceptin, and I am cranky, scared, and very ready to get on with my life. But first, apparently, we gotta keep mitigating my risk of death.

    Diagnosis / Treatment Update: Post-LAR, Pre-Chemo 2.0

  2. Aug 31

    The Best That Could Happen?

    A framed print asks the same question through a divorce, a broken-off affair, two cancer diagnoses, and the exam room where the numbers finally turn. "The Best That Could Happen?" follows the object that stayed hung on the wall through everything — moved once, replaced with a blank corkboard, and still somehow present the moment good news finally arrives. A story about the particular kind of strength it takes to keep asking a question you're not sure you want answered.

    The Best That Could Happen?

  3. Aug 23

    The Plunge

    One year ago, on what would have been my eleventh wedding anniversary, I did my first cold plunge. I was going to do it once, for bragging rights. But I returned. In that water I started to learn how to sit with discomfort, stop fighting myself, and trust that I was safe—even when every part of me wanted out. Six months later, I would need that lesson more than I ever could have imagined.

    The Plunge

  4. Aug 16

    Things that are Weird: Part Nine

    Hospitals, superheroes, cancer, and more cancer.

    Things that are Weird: Part Nine

  5. Aug 12

    FAQ: Stage one? I thought you had stage three cancer. Explain?

    How can I have been diagnosed with Stage III rectal cancer—but have Stage I pathology after surgery? In this episode, I explain the difference between clinical and post-treatment pathologic staging, what cT3N1M0 and ypT2N0 actually mean, and how both can be true at the same time.

    FAQ: Stage one? I thought you had stage three cancer. Explain?

  6. Aug 10

    Diagnosis / Treatment Update: The Pathology Report

    What it showed, what's the plan, how I'm feeling.

    Diagnosis / Treatment Update: The Pathology Report

  7. Aug 4

    Diagnosis / Treatment Update: LAR Surgery and Hospital Stay

    One week after my Lower Anterior Resection (LAR) surgery, I'm home recovering. In this episode, I share what surgery was actually like: the da Vinci robot, waking up to learn I didn't need an ostomy, what they removed, the unexpected pain that turned out to be a surgical drain, and the incredible all-women surgical team that helped save my life. I also talk about my pathology report, my first week of recovery, and what life looks like now as I learn to live without a rectum.

    Diagnosis / Treatment Update: LAR Surgery and Hospital Stay

  8. Jul 27

    Diagnosis / Treatment Update: Post-Op, Pre-Op

    Three weeks. One surgery wrapped up. Another begins. In this update I talk about finishing breast reconstruction rehab, pausing Herceptin, chemo hair loss, hot flashes, my final preparations for tomorrow's low anterior resection (LAR), and the strange reality of standing on the edge of the biggest surgery and what may be the biggest milestone yet: once this part is over, there won't be a tumor in my body. I'm hopeful. I'm terrified. Both are true.

    Diagnosis / Treatment Update: Post-Op, Pre-Op
See All (58)

About

Hi, I’m Alli. Within six weeks, I was diagnosed with two completely separate cancers: Stage I HER2+ breast cancer and Stage III colorectal cancer. I’m 44. Until then, my health history was… deliciously boring. And then—two cancers. It’s as wild as it sounds. So I started writing about it. And then I thought: not everyone has time (or energy) to read. So this is that—my blog, in audio form. Unfiltered. Honest. Occasionally dark. Sometimes funny. No silver linings. No toxic positivity. Just the truth, as it happens. Welcome to the madness. To see the written word, visit lumpsandhumps.com

Information