Peachy Comeback

  “You ready?” I ask Murphy, my 85-pound Goldendoodle, as we stand in the backyard. He stares intently at the ball in my hand. As soon as he sees me wind up—well, that’s a generous description—as soon as he sees me flail my arm back, he takes off, barreling down the yard at full speed toward absolutely nothing. Then the ball whizzes by somewhere in his general direction. At that moment, his effort pays off, and he excitedly chases it down. His faith inspires me. Don’t laugh. His commitment to the process speaks to me. Actually, that *is* pretty silly and worth a laugh. But go with me here. Life requires effort without complete control of the results. Giving effort and energy in relationships, in career, in sickness, in circumstances where we don’t have total control of the outcome, is not easy. It can feel heavy, tiring, and isolating. I vividly remember dark, low moments in the middle of cancer treatment—a circumstance requiring significant effort and energy with no control of the...

  Through the windows of our sunroom, I’m watching snow fall. Not an unusual comment for a January day until you understand the ground it’s falling on is in Georgia. I wonder if my 9:00 o’clock nail appointment will get canceled? Likely.   Yesterday, over a bowl of coconut curry soup, a new experience for me, I listened to a friend describe someone’s recent experiences dealing with disappointment and her desire to help that person navigate those emotions. After some probing questions, it was apparent that source of the disappointment was rooted more in concerns for what other people were thinking about this person’s performance or ability and less about how this person felt about their own performance or ability.  What a common experience.  Comparing yourself to other people or experiences had by those people are both common and crippling. Don’t do it. Should probably get my mirror out and say that again.  Instead, stay focused on what you can control: your effo...

 Recently, I shared on Instagram two photos from roughly the same day but 4 years apart for the sole purpose of highlighting a key learning from my journey with breast cancer.  Context In both photos, I’m smiling and holding a dog. In contrast, one photo reveals fuzzy freshly growing hair on a bald head and the other has normal shoulder length hair. And while one may jump to the conclusion that the latter pictured self is a happier self, it’s not necessarily completely accurate. Don’t get me wrong, I am quite happy and eternally grateful to be mostly through that pointedly difficult season in life. But with further reflection, I can find things that would steal joy and keep me up at night in both examples.  Learning Circumstances are dynamic, rarely constant. That fact leaves me in far less control than I would prefer to admit. However, for the control freak in all of us, we do have a few things within our grasp: thought life and perspective. Choosing to have perspective ...

On Episode 11 of the Peachy Comeback Podcast, I talk with nursing student, Reese, about my journey with breast cancer.  Reese is a nursing student at Kennesaw State University where she is taking a course on cancer survivorship. As her aunt and breast cancer survivor, I was beyond thrilled to be interviewed as part of research project. If you haven’t heard me say it before, the medical care team I encountered throughout my 3 years of breast cancer treatment was vital part of my treatment. Being surrounded by competent, empathetic, and helpful medical professionals was a true highlight of my journey. I am inspired and excited by the young nurses studying hard and seeking to learn all they can in order to be prepared to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves.  Thank you to all of the people from cleaning teams to surgeons who help make great medical care available!  -Abby  

 It’s wild to think about the unexpected situations and decisions we so quickly find ourselves in. “Do I want to save my hair while going through chemo” is one such question I and far too many women have asked themselves.  I elected to let my hair release. This decision was made mostly because I don’t have thick hair to begin with. The thought of going through the effort to keep it, only to end up with a sprig or two was a chance I didn’t have the eagerly to take.  My good friend faced the exact same question a few years after me. She elected to go with cold capping and preserved her hair throughout her entire course of chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. Wow! I mean, I just think this is so awesome! My goal in having an in depth conversation with her about her experience is to create more relatable, real-life content and support for women who may be asking themselves the very same question right now. Watching my friend’s strength through this journey has been so in...

 Peachy Comeback Episode 6 What a privilege talking with my sister, Ashley Jones, on the Peachy Comeback. In this episode of the Peachy Comeback, Ashley and I talk about the importance of care and recovery during breast cancer. We talk through what it’s like as a patient and what it’s like as a caregiver following a double mastectomy surgery. How do you prepare for a double mastectomy surgery? The process of preparing for a surgery can feel overwhelming and exhausting. Here are four tips to help get you feeling better prepared. Steps To Get Ready For A Double Mastectomy Surgery Recovery 1. Volunteer someone to take care of you. Seriously, friend. Now is not the time to be an independent warrior. Ask for help and have a trusted person in your life be available to be with you at all times for at least the first several days. Help with simple things like getting up and down from a chair or bed is so important and really helps the recovery process not feel so daunting. 2. Have lots of ...

 We spent Halloween weekend at the beach this year. Halloween always conjures up, no pun intended,  specific memories in my mind because I was diagnosed with breast cancer around this time in 2020. Also an election year. Heaven help us. This year, the feelings felt extra fresh. As I sat on the sand watching the sun go down, yes, it was idyllic, I couldn't shake the feeling of how drastically different my life was just a few short years ago. Scared and sad were the first words that come to mind.  The emotions settled quite heavily as I drifted from thinking about my own experience to thoughts of a dear friend newly embarking on this journey. A journey no one signs up for. At the time of my diagnosis, it was almost impossible to see an end in sight. The idea of 18 + weeks of treatment, procedures, and more treatment if needed, terrified me. I wanted so badly to be done before I even got started. As a kid, my mom would read stories to me out of, what I remember to be fantast...