About

 

When I was diagnosed with a brain tumor just weeks after my first grandchild Benjamin was born, I prayed to God to give me a second chance, did what the doctors told me, but NEVER believed that I would live to see the baby take his first steps. My tumors went into remission after several months of chemo treatments but I was given only a 20% chance of surviving five years without a recurrence.

When brain cancer was wreaking havoc in my thalamus and right frontal lobe, my mind was muddled and my spirits crushed. I couldn’t concentrate enough to read a magazine or even watch TV. But as the chemo began to do its thing, I started reading books – a slew of them – all on the same topic—coping with cancer. Some of them helped, and some made me pull the covers over my head and cry. One of my favorites was Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor, which actually gave me a laugh or two, something I thought was impossible at the time.

My book, All in My Head: How a hypochondriac beat brain cancer, chronicles my story with humor but also authenticity. I was not a positive thinker and I didn’t “stand up to cancer” — I cowered from it, most of the time in the fetal position. But I found a hero – Dr. Andrew Norden of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and…SPOILER ALERT… I survived.

During my illness, I learned some lessons, and I share them with my readers. Simple things like “Don’t wear a Johnny – it’ll make you look sick,” or “Keep the curtain closed between you and your roommate until you know if she plans to kill you.” Or, in all seriousness, “Find a support group. These people will help you, and you will help them.”

My name is Marie (Gallishaw) Fricker. I am an editor and head writer for the marketing department of a multi-office real estate company in the Greater Boston area.  I live in Scituate, Massachusetts where I spend my spare time dodging babysitting duties for the five happy hellions who are my grandchildren— Ben, Will, Christian, Olivia, and Sam.

I believe my story will give other cancer patients – either newly diagnosed or in the trenches of the battle – hope, coping strategies, and maybe even a laugh or two. The book will also appeal to anyone who wants to read about surviving against the odds— even from the fetal position.