Writers Inc.

Grace Markos is our December author of the month! Grace has just completed a substantial and thoughtful memoir called Amazing Grace’s Cancer Journey.

These photographs show Grace with the first edition of her piece; she previewed the piece and did a signing of her first edition during a recent hospital visit.

Grace is just completing a year of treatment and chemotherapy, and the release of her memoir coincides with the first anniversary of her cancer diagnosis. Grace has shared that she was motivated to write this book to describe her experiences, and also to help other children in treatment. Grace would like to become a pediatric oncology nurse, and her book is filled with illustrations of medical procedures—to help other children visualize unfamiliar medical words and terms, like “CT scan” or “port”.

We’re including a short excerpt from Grace’s book just below. Congratulations on all of your hard work, Grace! We are all inspired by your great thinking, your incredible artwork, and your desire to help others. Thank you for inviting us into your creative process. 💛

Excerpt from Amazing Grace’s Cancer Journey

The very last time that I went to the Jimmy Fund, I got my second-to-last last dose of Doxorubicin—one of my least favorite chemo meds. I am really excited for my very last dose of Doxorubicin, and my final dose of Calasparagese. After the big chemo medicines are done, my hair will begin to grow back.

​I’m really looking forward to being done with treatment. Along with going on my Make-a-Wish to Disney World, I’m hoping that my energy will start to come back. Once I begin to feel a little better, I really want to start doing gymnastics and sports again.

​I'm also really looking forward to seeing more people than I can right now. I still have to be pretty careful about germs and exposure, so I'm excited that I'll be able to spend even more time with the friends and family I love...especially my grandparents and my cousins. Cancer treatment can take a long time. It's taken me almost two years to get better, and I need to go for check-ups a lot more than I used to.

​If I was going to give advice to another kid with cancer, I think I'd tell them that it's okay to feel scared, because cancer can be scary at times. Your hair may fall out because of the medicines, but it will grow back. You might not be able to do all of the things that you used to do, and that will be frustrating, and you might have to be on a special diet for awhile and eat different foods than you used to.

​Just know that you'll be able to do all of the things that you did before, and that you'll have more energy, once treatment is over. If you feel nervous or frightened, know that it's okay to feel that way. Deep breathing can help you during the scary moments. Snuggling with your mommy also helps a lot. I'm excited to be starting a new part of my own cancer journey, and to almost be done with treatment.

I want share what I've learned with other kids. That's one of the reasons that I really wanted to write this book. I want to share what happened to me, because I hope that another kid might learn something from my story, and that it might help other kids with cancer to feel less alone. If you have cancer, know that you're never alone in this journey, and that your own story is important too!