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.

Finding your TRIBE

We've all heard the saying "it takes a village" when applied to child-rearing.  I would submit that this same idea applies to life and, particularly, dealing with a terminal illness.  Now, as an introvert, I subscribe to the onion theory of relationships, i.e., the closer anyone gets in a relationship to me, the smaller the … Continue reading Finding your TRIBE →

So long Ibrance, two years was a good run

Progression was not the news we were hoping for this week, but then the unexpected paths that life has brought us has been par for the course over the last few years. Expecting the unexpected is a difficult adjustment to make and clearly I'm not quite there yet. Two (2) years of stability after the … Continue reading So long Ibrance, two years was a good run →

Nancy’s Point 2019 Summer Blogging Challenge

I've never participated in a blog hop before and I look to Nancy Stordahl of Nancy's Point as a bit of a trailblazer in the cancer blogging world. I read some of the responses to her blogging challenge last summer, but I didn't really start blogging until this year. Blogging is, by definition, a mostly … Continue reading Nancy’s Point 2019 Summer Blogging Challenge →

Pet Peeve Time

I suppose it would be true to say that my entire blog is really one long discussion about my pet peeves. It seems I have quite a lot of pet peeves! Well, today’s post is overtly about a major pet peeve of mine, maybe my number one pet peeve. This post is not about any … Continue reading Pet Peeve Time →

Survivor’s Guilt

"Survivor guilt (or survivor's guilt; also called survivor syndrome or survivor's syndrome) is a mental condition that occurs when a person believes they have done something wrong by surviving a traumatic event when others did not, often feeling self-guilt. The experience and manifestation of survivor's guilt will depend on an individual's psychological profile. When the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV(DSM-IV) was … Continue reading Survivor’s Guilt →

We need Help!

Right now there’s a bill before Congress called the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act (H.R. 2178). It’s the second time it’s been introduced, sponsored this time by Republican Peter King (NY-2) and Democrat Kathy Castor (Fl-14). A companion bill has also been introduced in the Senate by senators Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Chris … Continue reading We need Help! →

Mystery Blogging Award

I have been nominated for another award! It's still a bit of a shock when people I know comment, but it's a whole other thing when fellow bloggers engage. Jordyn from https://thechronicallyunimaginable.blog/ is one of those fellow bloggers, she not only follows me and comments on my posts, she has nominated me for this award … Continue reading Mystery Blogging Award →

Tattoos, Part I

Here's a secret about me that I hadn't shared publicly until recently -- I'm fascinated by tattoos. I've always wanted to get tattoos. Seriously. But I was born into a really conservative family and then I chose a really conservative profession. I decided to live in an area that attracts more conservative people than not … Continue reading Tattoos, Part I →

Day of Caring, 2019

I attended the Day of Caring for Breast Cancer Awareness, South Florida in 2018 for the second time. The first time I attended was over a decade ago when my mother was a model of hope. May of 2019 was the third time I attended and this year, I was honored to participate as a … Continue reading Day of Caring, 2019 →

Unspoken Ink

Many people reading this blog post will know that I have a Bachelors degree in English with a Literature concentration. That basically meant that once I got the general education classes out of the way, I spent three (3) years in college reading a variety of literature, then analyzing and discussing the meaning, themes, or … Continue reading Unspoken Ink →