Call for Submissions

THE SECOND TIME AROUND

Diagnosed 2X

April/May 2025

Vol 10, Issue No. 2

Being diagnosed with cancer more than once can feel like getting hit by lightning again: a combination of shock, disbelief, anger, fear, anxiety, and grief. It can also bring back the same emotions you felt when you were first diagnosed, but they might be even stronger. You might feel discouraged and overwhelmed, and you might be more cautious and guarded, or you might have the tools you lacked the first time. In short, experiencing cancer again is a whirlwind of feelings. We invite you to tell your "second time around" story in this new issue of Wildfire Magazine. To write for this issue, you have been diagnosed with cancer at least twice: breast cancer more than once (local recurrences or a metastatic recurrences), or you've experienced breast cancer as well as another type of cancer (either before your breast cancer diagnosis, after, or concurrently).

We accept:

  • Essays: 650-1200 words

  • Poems: 50 line maximum

  • Artwork: high-resolution along with a written Artist Statement

Submission Deadline: February 25, 2025

Ready to submit your story?

Fill out the submission form at the bottom of the Submission page.

🎧Listen to past episodes of The Burn related to “The Second Time Around” theme.

✏️Use writing prompts. Here are some to get the wheels turning and help you find the story you need to tell.

Remember, we are looking for cancer-related stories, so no matter where your story begins, don’t forget to include how your experience of cancer has affected you, and the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Read more writing tips here.

  • What is my personal truth about having faced cancer more than once? 

  • What I wish the world understood about being a multi-time cancer survivor is...

  • Five things I know now that I didn't know before my second diagnosis…

  • What I have learned about coping with uncertainty — and how my view on this has changed over time? 

  • My perspective on life (and/or cancer) has shifted — here's how I came to see the world the way I do now...

  • "Prepare for the worst but hope for the best" — what does this phrase mean to you and how does it play out in your life today?

  • Where does hope live for you?

📖 Read past issues of Wildfire Magazine related to “The Second Time Around.”

  • Wildfire Magazine Body 2024 Cover

    MBC: Advocacy

    October/November 2024

  • "MBC" 2023 Cover

    MBC: Lessons Learned

    October/November 2023

  • "The Second Time Around" by Cathy Gigante-Brown

    Read a featured essay from the 2020 “Survivorship” issue.

  • "Each Body Part Has a Story to Tell" by Shelley Moreno

    Read a featured essay from the 2019 “Body” issue.