Nine (9) years is a strange country to inhabit when you were once told you might only have months. Time changes shape when it is measured not in vacations or promotions or retirement plans, but in scan dates, infusion schedules, pathology reports, and the quiet calculations you do before every holiday, every birthday, every milestone, … Continue reading Nine Year Metaversary
I have never known quite what to do with the word brave. It shows up so quickly whenever people witness suffering, ready in their mouths like a ceremonial offering. You’re so brave. They say it softly, reverently, as though bravery is the natural companion to illness, grief, fear, survival. As though courage blooms automatically inside … Continue reading “You’re so Brave”
There is a peculiar loneliness in suffering that cannot decide how visible it is allowed to become. A terrible arithmetic that governs and if you step wrong, there are serious consequences. Maybe not in the short run, but absolutely over time. Speak too often of pain, exhaustion, grief, disability, illness, fear—and suddenly your humanity is … Continue reading The Burden of Honesty in Suffering
Recently, in a support group I’ve been moderating with my Dad, a mental health therapist, since the long blur of COVID, I offered a small piece of homework—something I rarely do. But sometimes you can feel the shift before anyone names it, the quiet sag of spirits, the way the room grows heavier even through … Continue reading Finding Glimmers in the Weight of Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC)
During the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion that was a collaboration between the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA), the American Association of Clinical Research (AACR) and the Advanced Breast Cancer Global Alliance (ABCGA). Dr Fatima Cordoso and Teri … Continue reading Clinical Trials, Part II: Informed Consent
During the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), I had the privilege of participating a panel discussion that was a collaboration between the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA), the American Association of Clinical Research (AACR) and the Advanced Breast Cancer Global Alliance (ABCGA). Dr Fatima Cordoso and Teri Pollastro … Continue reading Finding Clinical Trials: A Patient’s Guide
Thankful to Marie at Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer for gathering up amazing blogs every single week and sharing her weekly round up. Sharing here so you can learn more about the various bloggers she brings together week after week — each of them is worth a follow! Warmly, Abigail https://journeyingbeyondbreastcancer.com/2026/01/04/weekly-round-up-the-new-years-edition-5/
2025 was a bit of a dumpster fire in relation to my medical care. It is only now looking back on the previous 12 months that I can begin to see just how bad it really was. It wasn’t just the specific side effects of Enhertu that put me into a foggy state most of … Continue reading Medical updates, January 2026
Entering 2026, the author reminisces about words selected previously and announces her word for 2026.
Each October, Metavivor shares tiles of educational information and 2025 is no different. I'll be sharing information throughout the month as I have the time/bandwidth and today I'm catching up on the first week of tiles: Approximately 117 people in the United States die every day from Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) -- that's … Continue reading Catching up on some MBC BCAM awareness!
No Half Measures 