Our WhatNexter of the week,"Fusionera," is a picture of perseverance and fight. She battle brain tumors and Glioma Intermediate Grade Astrocytoma for 18 years and had five recurrences. Fusionera's story offers hope to anyone that is newly diagnosed with a prognosis that seems bleak; she never stopped advocating for herself and fighting for her life no matter how many times the cancer came back.

Her initial prognosis was a grim 3 weeks to 3 months, but she has turned that into over 18 years...

Background: WhatNext.com is an online support network developed in partnership with the American Cancer Society that helps help cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers gain firsthand insight into living with cancer and connect with others facing a similar diagnosis. Members of WhatNext.com are sometimes referred to as "WhatNexters."

Your first chemo treatment is coming up and you’re not sure what to expect. Here is a quick list of things other WhatNexters have brought to their first...

We recently posted a question on the site about how you remain positive in the face of cancer. We got a lot of great responses and below is a summary of them. We hope they inspire you to be the best you can be.

1. I look at each day as a new day.
“I have always been positive but when first diagnosed I had good and dark days. I tell people every day is not a good day,but everyday I wake up is a great day.” - weighmaster

2. I tell myself it could be worse.
“It could have...

Cancer can cause many strange or different things to happen to your body. We recently posted a question on Facebook asking about some of the weirdest changes survivors have noticed about themselves since having cancer, below is a summary of what was shared. Feel free to add your own experiences in the comments section.

1. Fast-growing leg hair (some say like a forest)

                                   ...

In this video WhatNexter "PamBsky" shares her story of being diagnosed with Stage IIIC Fallopian Tube Cancer. In the face of a late stage cancer Pam talks about how she made it to the other side and how she is now "starting an new and unexpected chapter" in her life. She also shares what it was like to go through treatment and surgery. In this interview Pam gives encouragement to the newly diagnosed: "As a survivor it is so heart-warming to be able to give back to people. I'm still here and...

Family, friends, and loved ones are an important part of a cancer team. They can provide love, support, meals, hugs, words of advice, visits, cards, and a shoulder to cry on. Many WhatNexters say that they could not have done it without their loved ones but sometimes the patient and loved one relationship is hard because family and friends do not know exactly what they as the patient are going through.

 Here we share some things, from a patient perspective, that WhatNexters with cancer...

We know you guys have enough to worry about, so with Halloween coming up we thought we would do some brainstorming for you. Here are some ideas on how you can rock your bald head this Halloween. You can even share your photo on our Pinboard and let us know how your costume turned out.

1. Mr. Clean 

Keep it clean and sport a white t-shirt, white eyeliner, and a bottle of cleaning solution - does it get any easier? 

In 2010 I lost my dear Dad…..in 2011 I lost my beloved pet who gave me 10 joyful years together so 2012 was to be my year, “beginning of a year of promises”, to be happy, to take care of health, to go back to my dancing classes, yoga, etc. I tried to get as attached to my promises as possible and with September coming, it was time for yearly check-up, nothing to worry about, right?

Wrong-completely wrong, my husband’s check-up showed a kidney cancer so I slowed my exams to make deep...

WhatNexters have been known to dress up in some wacky costumes for chemo but with Halloween around the corner now you have a great excuse to fly your freak flag a little higher. Hopefully the pictures below will inspire you to have fun this Halloween. Don’t forget to share pictures of your brilliant costume on our WhatNext Pinboard after Halloween.

Chemo Cocktail

Cutie Hello Kitty

B-b-b-bad to the Bone

Famous Rivalry Cowboys and Indians

Jane of the Jungle

Karate Kickin’ Cancer in...

Many WhatNexters agree that trying to navigate decisions about insurance can be difficult. With Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act in place, there are a few changes in health care that may benefit cancer patients. The ACA says that by 2014, each state will have a health insurance marketplace that gives consumers one place to go to shop online and compare insurance plans.

With this change, if you are looking for additional help, there is a Cancer Insurance Checklist by the Cancer Support...