I’m trying to put into words how sad I am today. Yesterday we found out that our amazing friend Bret @hoechemo passed away after a 10 year battle with cancer. I first met Bret through Tumblr. I was newly diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and I was searching for someone, anyone who was going through the same thing. Bret’s blog was beautiful. He was an amazing writer, so caring, so honest. I didn’t feel so alone. I followed him and soon he followed me and we eventually messaged with words of support for our respective journeys. Even though we were both diagnosed with the same cancer, we’ve had such different experiences. His cancer came back, multiple times. This photo is from when we actually met in NYC. He and his wife Aura were in town to go to Sloan Kettering for I believe his second stem cell transplant and they were kind enough to to spend the afternoon with us. I was in the middle of my radiation treatments. He had gone through that and more so we all traded war stories. In a month I would finish my final cancer treatment and life would go back to normal. Although that as a cancer survivor is tricky in itself to navigate. Bret’s stem cell treatment would beat back the cancer, but leave him fighting a multitude of other problems that it caused. Yet through it all, I followed his journey. Aura and Bret have a beautiful 4 year old daughter named Evie, who is sweet, and smart, and funny. She tells amazing jokes. I’m at a loss as to how to put into words how sorry I am for their loss. Bret was caring and kind. His heart was open and honest. I’ll miss his writing, his excellent taste in music, and knowing that he was simply in the world. This loss has been hitting me in waves today and I will be feeling this for a while.
