Share your story

You don't have to be a writer

If something happened to you — or to someone you love — and you'd like other people to read about it, we'd like to publish it. Bad spelling welcome.

Before you write

A few gentle guidelines

Not rules so much as what tends to work. If you're unsure about any of it, send it anyway and we'll talk it through.

Write in your own voice
Say it the way you'd say it out loud. We'd rather read something plain and true than something polished.
Around 300 to 1,200 words
That's the sweet spot — long enough to say something, short enough to finish. Shorter is fine; the form just needs 200 characters to start.
Change or leave out other people's names
Your story is yours to tell. Other people's is theirs. Initials, a nickname, or just "my brother" all work.
No medical advice
Describe what happened to you as much as you like. Please don't tell readers what treatment to seek or skip — everyone's situation is different.
We may lightly copy-edit
Mostly typos, clarity, and headings. If we change anything that matters, we send it back to you first.
Nothing goes live without your OK
You get the final read. You can also ask to publish under a first name only, or pull your story later.

Personal experience
First-hand stories from people who have faced cancer.
Caregiving
For the siblings, parents, and friends who show up every day.
Cancer education
Clear, careful explainers about research, treatment, and prevention.

What happens next

1
You send it
Fill in the form below. Your draft saves in your browser as you type, so you can stop and come back.
2
A real person reads it
Right now that's one of our founders, until we've recruited volunteer editors. Usually within a couple of weeks.
3
We email you first
You'll see any suggested edits and the publish date before anything appears on the site.

Questions before you send anything? Email stories@hearts4hands.org.

Your story

Everything except your location is required. Your email is only used to talk with you about your story.

So we can email you about edits, so nothing is published without your say-so, and so you can withdraw it later if you change your mind.

It takes a minute, and you only do it once. Just want to send us a message? No account needed for that.