#cancer

Love Letter to Life 01.17.2026 Backwash

| Pamela Markoya

Dear Life, Anniversaries can amplify a backwash of emotions. I ask, “What are these feelings and where are they coming from?” Thoughts flow in, like fluid moving backward. Ah Hah! December 2019, sitting alone in the parking lot of the Cancer Center with the realization that I might have cancer flooded the car with tears. I was diagnosed two weeks later. Our tears flow through the body of every cancer patient, moving us from diagnosis to being here today. I am with you. You are not alone.
Yours Truly, Pamela Rose

Watercolor 01.08.2026

Love Letter to Life 01.14.2026 Anniversary

| Pamela Markoya

Dear Life, Today is the 6th anniversary of two events that changed my life: At 2:30pm, I was diagnosed with Aggressive Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma. At 10:00pm, I read an email from the daughter I released 50 years ago, wanting to connect with me. Mother-love surged through me, giving the strength and perseverance to live in and through the years of treatment while building a loving relationship with Tracy, my daughter. There are miracles. Don’t quit before they happen.
Yours Truly, Pamela Rose

Love Letter to Life 12.21.2025 Solstice

| Pamela Markoya

Dear Life, This shortest day of the year begins the season of Winter. Each day there will be a few more minutes of light. I live my life a day at a time and in the moment as best I can. With each new season, I reflect and reset my intentions. The 90-day outlook is manageable, respecting the needs and wisdom of my body. Cancer has taught me many lessons, this being one of the most important.
I wish you all a Happy Solstice and may there be light on your path.
Yours Truly, Pamela Rose

Acrylic and Ink on Paper 12.17.2025

Love Letter to Life 12.19.25 The Hidden Disease

| Pamela Markoya

Dear Life “This is a great PetScan” the oncologist said, later adding, “The kind of lymphoma you have is very tricky. It can hide out in your body.” I know this, but today, we can celebrate excellent health.

I thanked Dr Herbert for working with me since 2022, after two years of “big guns” chemo and Stem Cell Replacement did not work. He said, “You are a brave and unusual person who has asked for what you needed. Not every patient can do this.”

My message is: Please be your own best health advocate. Your medical team wants this even though it can be uncomfortable. Doctors are not gods. But they want miracles, too.

Yours Truly, Pamela Rose

Acrylic Painting 11.20.2025

Love Letter to Life 12.17.2025 Waiting

| Pamela Markoya

Dear Life, Between every medical test, diagnosis, treatment, outcome, there is waiting and living. And creating. I am grateful to be an artist, a sentient being, living and creating. My daily affirmation is: I am a channel of love, light, creativity and life. There is a greater, higher power moving within me and all around me, giving me strength and comfort.
Tomorrow at 8:15am, bloodwork and PetScan reports will be discussed with oncologist. Thank you all for being with me.
Yours Truly, Pamela Rose

Miniature Painting in Watercolor and Acrylic 12.11.2025

Love Letter to Life 12.13.2025 Appearances

| Pamela Markoya

Dear Life, Recent bloodwork showed reasons for alarm so I will have a PetScan, Tuesday, 6:30am and see oncologist Thursday to go over the results and more bloodwork. Yesterday I felt angry and afraid. What does this mean for me today? How can I maintain some tranquility with this troubling appearance? I breathe, pause and pray, remembering the love and support I need are here for me, in this moment, and moving forward. Joy is present within me. Be in it and trust the Spirit of Light.
Yours Truly, Pamela Rose

Collage 12.11.2025

Love Letter to Life 11.13.2025 Evolve

| Pamela Markoya

Dear Life, Woke before sunrise. Bloodwork yesterday was overall good but showed a “slight inflammation of the liver”. No answer as to why. So I will have bloodwork again in a month. Not an emergency but my brain sounded alarms. I have the tools to quiet my mind after years of practice: prayer and meditation. And if it is dark, turn the light on. The monsters leave the room. I gratefully saw the soft pink beauty of sunrise.
Yours Truly, Pamela Rose

Collage and Paint 11.10.2025

Love Letter to Life 11.02.2025 Discoveries

| Pamela Markoya

Dear Life, I read inspirational writings in the morning to remind my thoughts of a greater intelligence: Spirit. This helps me be conscious of my words and actions throughout the day. Like all humans, I have a dark thread that can get tangled up in negativity. When this happens, I pause, discover the cause, and discard the thoughts. It helps to have some humor. When something says BOO in the dark, my light shines and says I AM BIGGER THAN YOU!
Yours Truly, Pamela Rose

Collage 10.20.2025

Love Letter to Life 10.31.2025 I Can

| Pamela Markoya

Dear Life, I showed my studio and work to an artist friend yesterday, saying, “The project, INSIDE-OUT, is scary and brave”. Making transfers of my x-rays onto canvas, painting, drawing and collaging images that represent my body; it is certainly a different wheelhouse for me. Only now, a year out from 4 years of cancer treatments, can I begin to process this. Thankfully I can.
Yours Truly, Pamela Rose

Collage and Painting 10.28.2025