I'm not saying goodbye to you all now, I was just thinking about a quote I heard recently. I was catching up on all things Criminal Minds, the original, in preparation for watching the final season (not sure how I feel about that) and one of the quotes for an episode was shared like this … Continue reading Saying Goodbye …
Author: Abigail Johnston
I'm a daughter, a wife, a mother, and I've been living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer since March, 2017. All of the words I publish are my own.
Heading into Chemo
Tomorrow I will start the IV chemo, Taxotere, along with the oral medication, Xeloda. This combination is designed to work together and gives my medical oncologist some flexibility. While I get the need to get ahead of the cancer cells that were not materially affected by my last line of treatment, the knowledge that I … Continue reading Heading into Chemo
Painful expectations
As most of you are aware, I ask a lot of questions in order to set my expectations whenever I start a new treatment or have a procedure and I highly recommend doing this. Whatever the answer, I set my expectations and prepare for whatever I’m told. That might mean how I schedule the days … Continue reading Painful expectations
When the invisible becomes visible and vice versa
I’ve written before about having an Invisible yet Dynamic Disability and some of the ramifications of that experience. The struggles of having to communicate the challenges of living with MBC is real and so many don’t get how I can look fine. Only a small handful of people understand how I must prepare for an … Continue reading When the invisible becomes visible and vice versa
Brace, Brace, Brace
For the first time in quite a few years, the weight of MBC is is a very present threat and we find ourselves bracing for what’s coming. In hindsight, I think I’d already started bracing for the news we got last week. Early last week, I had a PET/CT, which I get roughly quarterly, and … Continue reading Brace, Brace, Brace
Remembering friends lost in 2021
In March of 2020, my dear friend, Emily Garnett, was murdered by Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC). As I struggled to process my deep deep grief that also felt somehow outside the mainstream, a dear friend offered me a lifeline. Alyson Tischler responded to a comment I’d made on social media about my grief … Continue reading Remembering friends lost in 2021
What is wrong with people and other related questions
As 2022 begins and the world is once again beset with complications involving COVID-19, this time with the Omicron variant, I find myself pondering many things. At the forefront of my mind is the question, "What is wrong with people?" This one comes up a lot in varying levels of frustration. There are more people … Continue reading What is wrong with people and other related questions
I have a Confession
I've been really down lately. I think these feeling are a result of a combination of unexpected progression in October, precipitously rising tumor markers (highest since diagnosis over four (4) years ago), a new diagnosis for one of my boys, very low hemoglobin (I'm just about in the territory where infusions are routinely given), pretty … Continue reading I have a Confession
Remembering the MBC Healing Circle
The earliest communication I can find from Ilene Kaminsky about the MBC Healing Circle was in April of 2021 where she was explaining what a healing circle was, highlighted her training, and invited me to participate. While I'd interacted a bit with Ilene on Twitter at that point, our interactions then were superficial and wholly … Continue reading Remembering the MBC Healing Circle
Happy New Year, 2022
Each year, I spend some time looking back, not to castigate myself for failures, but to consider what has happened. 2021 has been quite the year, for the entire world. This exercise helps me focus on the year ahead by reminding me what went well and what didn’t. I wrote about my musings previously. Here’s … Continue reading Happy New Year, 2022
No Half Measures 