Posts by: Bob McEachern

Bob McEachern

Bob is both patient and advocate. He was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, a slow-growing but incurable blood cancer, in 2008. Since then, he has used his blog, Lympho Bob, to offer hope to other FL patients. A writing teacher and married father of three, he enjoys gardening, music, and travel.

September 13, 2019September 11, 2019

Real Awareness Means Understanding What Cancer Patients Experience

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

We’re right in the middle of Lymphoma Awareness Month. I’ve always had kind of a funny relationship with it. It seems silly to remind me to be aware of something ... Read more

August 16, 2019August 14, 2019

Finding My ‘Big Lymphoma Family’

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

Cancer has a way of isolating us. Friends and family can be supportive, but sometimes they don’t understand what you’re going through. I have found that it helps to think ... Read more

July 12, 2019July 10, 2019

We Can Change Back

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

I had my six-month checkup with the oncologist a couple of weeks ago. I won’t keep you in suspense: My follicular lymphoma is stable, and things look good. But it ... Read more

June 14, 2019June 12, 2019

Daffodils Amid the Thorns of Cancer: More Lessons from the Blackberry Patch

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

About a year ago, I wrote about the blackberry patch in my yard. It’s a wild patch, probably started by a squirrel dropping a berry, and it’s full of thorns. ... Read more

May 10, 2019May 8, 2019

Famous Lymphoma Survivors Can Be Models for Hope

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

I don’t like to think about death, much less write about it. Over 11 years as a follicular lymphoma patient, I’ve gotten pretty good at not thinking about it. But ... Read more

April 12, 2019April 11, 2019

Living In-between

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

I have been a follicular lymphoma patient since 2008. One of the strangest things about this disease is the kind of “in-between-ness” that it can put some patients into. You’re ... Read more

March 8, 2019March 7, 2019

The Thing with Feathers: Holding On to Hope for a Cancer Cure

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

My daughter’s high school English class is reading a poem by Emily Dickinson. It begins with: “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers.” I read the poem in high school, too. ... Read more

February 8, 2019February 5, 2019

The Joy of a New Oncologist

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

I seem to have bad luck with oncologists. I was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma a little over 11 years ago. But in the last five years, I have had five ... Read more

January 11, 2019January 10, 2019

Happy ‘Diagnosiversary’ to Me

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

On Jan. 15, I celebrate my “diagnosiversary” marking 11 years since my follicular lymphoma (FL) diagnosis. This one is special. When diagnosed, I read that the median survival for FL patients ... Read more

December 7, 2018December 11, 2018

Young People Give Me Hope

Columns, Things That Give Me Hope - a Column by Bob McEachern

I’m 51. That puts me firmly in “middle age” territory. And that’s a strange place to be for a follicular lymphoma (FL) patient. I was diagnosed at 40. Most people ... Read more