Francesca Olsen
@francescaolsen.bsky.social
Artist and writer and consultant. Stage 4 MBC-haver.
Pinned
Hi! I’m Francesca. I am an artist and writer and consultant and cancer haver and I make a lot of quilts. I’m finishing up a series of quilts about young adult cancer that will be on display in February. This is one of my works in progress. I will also talk and complain about writing here.
If you worked on Dinosaur Train and helped write the song about beelzebufo the giant prehistoric frog, I just want you to know I appreciate u
December 13, 2025 at 12:54 PM
If you worked on Dinosaur Train and helped write the song about beelzebufo the giant prehistoric frog, I just want you to know I appreciate u
Filling out all the cards that go with gifts I made for other friends with stage 4 cancer and…fuck, I know so many other people with stage 4 cancer now. It’s a complicated feeling. I love us all and wish us protection in 2026.
December 11, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Filling out all the cards that go with gifts I made for other friends with stage 4 cancer and…fuck, I know so many other people with stage 4 cancer now. It’s a complicated feeling. I love us all and wish us protection in 2026.
Hell yeah. Keep it up
Leaders of a Catholic church in Massachusetts kept a Nativity display with an anti-ICE message in place on Monday, defying an order from the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to remove it. The display shows Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus missing, replaced by a sign reading “ICE WAS HERE.” trib.al/adPW46y
December 10, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Hell yeah. Keep it up
People constantly compliment my wonderful husband and are like how did you find such an amazing man?
Folks, he’s my SECOND husband. Sometimes you have to try a second time to really know what you want and deserve. 🤷🏻♀️
Folks, he’s my SECOND husband. Sometimes you have to try a second time to really know what you want and deserve. 🤷🏻♀️
December 8, 2025 at 1:29 PM
People constantly compliment my wonderful husband and are like how did you find such an amazing man?
Folks, he’s my SECOND husband. Sometimes you have to try a second time to really know what you want and deserve. 🤷🏻♀️
Folks, he’s my SECOND husband. Sometimes you have to try a second time to really know what you want and deserve. 🤷🏻♀️
Reposted by Francesca Olsen
Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
December 4, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
I love my husband bc any time I even SUGGEST a bird may be in need of help he’s already pulling on an old canvas glove to go check it out 😂
December 3, 2025 at 12:46 PM
I love my husband bc any time I even SUGGEST a bird may be in need of help he’s already pulling on an old canvas glove to go check it out 😂
Really messed up of Brother to drop a mandatory embroidery machine update during a snowstorm during the season where you make everyone gifts
December 2, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Really messed up of Brother to drop a mandatory embroidery machine update during a snowstorm during the season where you make everyone gifts
TASTE THE RAINBOW! Sew the rainbow
November 16, 2025 at 1:05 PM
TASTE THE RAINBOW! Sew the rainbow
Lmao I can’t stop thinking about how cancer almost paralyzed me
November 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Lmao I can’t stop thinking about how cancer almost paralyzed me
Ugh 330+ million people live here please just give healthcare
Speaking at a Texas Tribune Festival on Friday, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg criticized the Democratic Party for failing to reach everyday Americans, arguing that it “got sucked in” to a conversation about identity. #TribFest25
Pete Buttigieg critiques Democrats for focus on identity
The former U.S. transportation secretary said the Democratic Party should focus more on issues gripping the country, such as health care and housing affordability.
www.texastribune.org
November 15, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Ugh 330+ million people live here please just give healthcare
Been a dedicated, top five bands fan of @tedleo.bsky.social for 22 years and my god do those old records still slap and somehow still relate to my life. Always something in there for me.
November 13, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Been a dedicated, top five bands fan of @tedleo.bsky.social for 22 years and my god do those old records still slap and somehow still relate to my life. Always something in there for me.
Every time I eat a hunk of bread the peasant lineage in me wakes up and is like “hell yeah, bread”
June 22, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Every time I eat a hunk of bread the peasant lineage in me wakes up and is like “hell yeah, bread”
cancerworld.net/its-no-longe... HOW ABOUT THEM APPLES?!?!?
It’s no longer taboo to suggest that some metastatic breast cancers may be curable | Cancerworld Magazine
It’s long been clear that, in most patients with metastatic HER-positive breast cancer, adding effective HER2 blockade to cytotoxics can result in very prolonged responses. Janet Fricker reports on th...
cancerworld.net
May 16, 2025 at 11:10 AM
cancerworld.net/its-no-longe... HOW ABOUT THEM APPLES?!?!?
A really sad thing is how many of my cancer support groups online have been infiltrated by right wing propagandists. Endless posts about ivermectin and how the Trump admin isn’t cutting cancer research funds.
April 30, 2025 at 2:54 PM
A really sad thing is how many of my cancer support groups online have been infiltrated by right wing propagandists. Endless posts about ivermectin and how the Trump admin isn’t cutting cancer research funds.
You are not a decent human being if you are only decent to the people you care about.
April 11, 2025 at 12:14 PM
You are not a decent human being if you are only decent to the people you care about.
If they stop/pause production of the lifesaving cancer drug enhertu I will literally die lol
April 10, 2025 at 12:06 AM
If they stop/pause production of the lifesaving cancer drug enhertu I will literally die lol
Reposted by Francesca Olsen
”A Substack representative declined to comment on the topic of former Substack writers making more money after moving to rival platforms…“
digiday.com/media/former...
digiday.com/media/former...
Former Substack creators say they’re earning more on new platforms that offer larger shares of subscription revenue
Former Substack writers who exited the platform in early 2024 are making more money on Beehiiv and Ghost thanks to their fixed pricing models.
digiday.com
April 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
”A Substack representative declined to comment on the topic of former Substack writers making more money after moving to rival platforms…“
digiday.com/media/former...
digiday.com/media/former...
Reposted by Francesca Olsen
Scientists have just cured pancreatic cancer in some patients with personalized mRNA vaccines. Pancreatic cancer. And this Trump administration wants to throw it all away.
They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.
They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.
Exclusive: NIH officials have advised scientists to remove reference to mRNA vaccines from their grant applications, in expectation the Trump administration intends to abandon most research in the field.
By @arthurallen202.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
By @arthurallen202.bsky.social
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Scientists Say NIH Officials Told Them To Scrub mRNA References on Grants - KFF Health News
Two senior scientists say National Institutes of Health officials advised them to remove references to mRNA vaccines in grant applications, and they fear the Trump administration will abandon a promis...
kffhealthnews.org
March 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Scientists have just cured pancreatic cancer in some patients with personalized mRNA vaccines. Pancreatic cancer. And this Trump administration wants to throw it all away.
They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.
They’re throwing away a cure for cancer.
Update, the way I had to take care of this ambulance bill was to get my state senator involved. He did fix it (thanks John Barrett) but lmao it was for an emergency ambulance ride for a spinal surgery for stage 4 cancer.
I just went through this with a $7k ambulance bill. absolutely should have been covered. It took us six months, two case workers, an appeal and endless faxed forms to get to the point where the insurance co agreed it should be covered. Hospital case worker told me next step is calling my state rep.
I wrote this based on my JHPPL article on inequitable administrative burdens of appealing coverage denials, incorporating a new interview I did with a doc who reviews claims for a major insurer and who said, "We’re told denying things is OK because people can appeal" www.statnews.com/2025/01/23/h...
March 12, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Update, the way I had to take care of this ambulance bill was to get my state senator involved. He did fix it (thanks John Barrett) but lmao it was for an emergency ambulance ride for a spinal surgery for stage 4 cancer.
FYI you can politely request a zoom meeting with a Senate or Congressional staffer to air concerns about a specific issue. You can just. Do that. I just did this with my senators as a Metavivor volunteer and they were super accommodating.
March 4, 2025 at 3:14 PM
FYI you can politely request a zoom meeting with a Senate or Congressional staffer to air concerns about a specific issue. You can just. Do that. I just did this with my senators as a Metavivor volunteer and they were super accommodating.
Only around 80 more days of winter in western MA
March 2, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Only around 80 more days of winter in western MA
I don’t think most of the US understands how very close we are to cancer vaccines. There’s also a phase 2 trial for a breast cancer vaccine going right now. This is crucial lifesaving science and for it to be in peril right now is unconscionable.
An #NIH-funded research team has developed an mRNA vaccine to treat pancreatic cancer. Results from the clinical trial were published this week in Nature.
#pancreas #cancer #mRNA #vaccine #medsky #science #medicine #bluesky
#pancreas #cancer #mRNA #vaccine #medsky #science #medicine #bluesky
In Early-Phase Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trial, Investigational mRNA Vaccine Induces Sustained Immune Activity in Small Patient Group
Learn how MSK researchers are deploying mRNA vaccines against pancreatic cancer.
www.mskcc.org
February 23, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I don’t think most of the US understands how very close we are to cancer vaccines. There’s also a phase 2 trial for a breast cancer vaccine going right now. This is crucial lifesaving science and for it to be in peril right now is unconscionable.
Reposted by Francesca Olsen
A special Tea & Talk, 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 15, also will offer an opportunity for young cancer survivors — "anyone diagnosed under age 45 with any kind of cancer" — to share their experiences and decorate a community quilt.
Artist Francesca Olsen uses quilting to tell stories of cancer survival and struggle
Artist Francesca Olsen’s quilt exhibition, 'Witness: Sharing Cancer Stories,' at Ventfort Hall in Lenox uses textile art to explore the realities of cancer, community and resilience, on view through M...
www.berkshireeagle.com
February 14, 2025 at 3:01 PM
A special Tea & Talk, 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 15, also will offer an opportunity for young cancer survivors — "anyone diagnosed under age 45 with any kind of cancer" — to share their experiences and decorate a community quilt.
Pouring one out in solidarity with every parent who just remembered they have to do valentines for school tomorrow.
February 13, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Pouring one out in solidarity with every parent who just remembered they have to do valentines for school tomorrow.