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cancer

10 years & a mother

cancer

It is not lost on me that I’m celebrating a clear scan near Mother’s Day. It is also not lost on me that the significance of my scan – ten years out from when I was diagnosed! – is THE scan that’s near Mother’s Day. It is also not lost on me that it shares…

a sound bath

cancer

A music bath… sound bath… basically the same thing, but also very different. I’ve written about music baths before & let me tell you: they’re amazing. Especially if you do them right. Music baths literally pulled me out of the dark so many times. During my time on chemo & getting treatment, a silver lining…

another six months

cancer

Yesterday I had my six month scan. Before I continue; everything looked great, thank god. No evidence of disease; (& I’ll get to more on that later). However, this time around, my anxiety was completely out of control, (see fingernails for proof :/ they’re a disaster). I’m almost ten years out from my diagnosis, and…

gist awareness ’22

cancer

Yesterday was national GIST awareness day. All day long, my thoughts constantly went to cancer. Those thoughts circled my diagnosis phone call, my future, my next scan, the little symptoms I actually had when I was diagnosed, being misdiagnosed for almost a year, my label of high-risk… I could go on. All day I thought…

one year out

cancer

Yesterday’s scan was a big one. My cancer has the highest recurrence rate in the first 18 months off of chemo. This first year of being scanned every three months has been nerve wrecking, to say the least. But, yesterday after being told my imaging and blood levels looked pristine, the elephant, that had been…

goodbye ’18

cancer

It’s 2019. A new year. A fresh start. A better list of resolutions. The ball drop each years seems to encourage people to reflect, goal set, and look ahead into the future with bright eyes and an ambitious heart. I am one of those people. Taking time to reflect is something I’ve learned to do…

staying present

cancer

It’s almost Christmas. Here I was, talkin’ so big that I’d be back to writing more, but again, time does it thing & I can’t seem to find it to sit down and write. I recently was given some encouragement to keep writing, [thanks, Kelly]; it warmed my heart. I love to write, but I’m…

32

cancer

I turned 32 last week. 32. I know it’s not old but to me, it sure feels ancient. I remember when I created my life to do list on my blog. It was one of the first pages I created. I was excited to take on the world, with the gift of time I had…

another loss

cancer

I officially have one week of summer left. This summer has been an interesting one. It’s brought family memories, warm, humid weather, and very few house projects. This summer also brought a new type of heartache and a strength I didn’t know I had. It has been one for the books – both one I…

no mo chemo

cancer

Let me say that again: NO MO CHEMO! Translated as: No More Chemo 🙂 The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind, but I will start at the beginning. I was at the Mayo Clinic for two days – scans on the first, doctor consult on the second – my favorite [eye roll]. I’m getting…

a grapefruit

cancer

A grapefruit brought tears to my eyes last night. Yep, you read that right… a grapefruit. Over the past five years I haven’t been able to have a single taste of anything grapefruit, not one little drop. It’s been one of the many lovely limitations while taking my chemo pill, [there are actually a lot…

being present

cancer

Merry [almost] Christmas 🙂 Over the past couple weeks, the holiday craze has set in, both at work and at home. In my classroom, I have been a lion tamer, snapping my whip just enough to keep a classroom full of snarling lions in line. Around this time of year, students seem to think they…

beautiful words

cancer

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables. October is my second favorite month, [it follows closely behind September… because you know, birthday month is always first]. I love the rhythm I’m feeling in the classroom. I love falling asleep, listening to the cool,…

GIST awareness

cancer

Today is National GIST Awareness Day. Last year, I was a featured blogger on ihadcancer.com and wrote this piece describing my journey. I wrote a blog post about life with GIST last year, as well, [you can find that post here]. This day floods my mind with memories. It forces me to reflect on the…

national cancer survivor day 

cancer

I’m currently sitting on the patio, my toes dipped in Ace’s pool, listening to Dead Man Winter. I can feel the sun’s heat on my face. The cool whisper from the breeze has tried to lull me to sleep all afternoon. The smell of fresh cut grass, sprinkled with my blooming peonies is a heavenly…

4 years: what i’ve learned

cancer

Last Monday marked four years. Four years of midnight foot cramps. Four years of tummy troubles. Four years of digging in my purse after dinners, & discreetly chasing my little orange pill with water. Four years of a low immune system. Four years. In a way, the past four years have moved at the speed…

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