The end of cancer treatment is often a time of rejoicing, but it can also mark the beginning of a “new normal” for patients that includes plenty of questions, fears and concerns.
Even the definition of normal might be relative depending on how much a cancer diagnosis and treatment impacted a person’s life. Jenni Abbott knows this feeling well. After fighting stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), Abbott, her husband and children are adjusting to life after cancer treatment and all that comes with it.
“Life after cancer never gets back to normal, because it’s a new normal,” Abbott said. “It’s a new outlook and a new way of living each day. After cancer, my priorities are laser-focused on what I deem most important – my relationship with God, my husband and my children,” Abbott said.
“If it isn’t going to make me a better follower of Christ, better wife or better mother, my answer is no. I still love being involved and active in my community, but I am so much more selective in how and where I spend my time.”
Two-plus years removed from her initial diagnosis, Abbott still recalls the details just before her life changed forever. In December 2020, Abbott visited Pinehurst Radiology for her annual mammogram. No big deal, she thought.
But the results from the mammogram quickly turned into an ultrasound, which then led to a breast biopsy. “Breast cancer was the farthest thing from my mind. I was a healthy and active 40-year-old,” she said.
On Jan. 8, 2021, Jenni and her husband, Sidney, met with her oncologist and learned her diagnosis, Stage 2b invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC).
The most common type of breast cancer, IDC starts in the milk ducts and invades the surrounding tissue. In some cases, cancer may spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system and bloodstream. IDC can have four types of treatments – chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation and anti-hormone therapy. Jenni’s case called for all four.
After several tough months of treatment, Abbott “rang the bell” in the spring of 2022.
“I felt on top of the world after ringing the bell because my active treatments were officially over. I moved into survivorship,” she said. “I enjoyed the summer and started a new job in the fall, but I was also on a new once-a-day oral medication and had to keep coming to the Cancer Center once a month for an injection. As much as I was enjoying seeing my friends at the infusion department, I was still in the battle. When I would tell friends and family that I had an appointment, they would look at me funny and say, ‘Oh, is everything OK?’”
Along with her injections, Abbott’s survivorship care has also included additional surgery because of the type of cancer she had. In February 2023, she underwent a complete hysterectomy after her gynecologist recommended it as a preventative measure to prevent her body from producing hormones that could increase her risk of a cancer reoccurrence.
Despite the ongoing recovery journey and additional surgery, Abbott continues to look at the positives.
“I breathe a sigh of relief at no longer taking another medication,” she said. “I am being seeing by someone in my care team every four months, and I will have bi-annual mammograms or chest MRIs. If something feels “wrong,” I can also have additional screening.”
Abbott compared her cancer diagnosis and treatment journey to “a nagging itch that cannot always be scratched.”
“It’s something that comes up almost every day either in conversation or just in my own thoughts,” she said. “Timewise, it feels like the journey was just yesterday but then I realize it’s been two years since my diagnosis. Looking at my hair, I feel like it was just yesterday because I still do not look like the "old me.” When I complain about my now (and new) very curly hair, my husband always encourages me by saying ‘You look great, babe. Be happy you HAVE hair!’”
On top of living more intentionally, Abbott is also giving back through FirstHealth’s Cancer CARE team, speaking with other women who are walking the same steps she did and offering guidance and support.
“I connect with them, answer their questions, calm their fears, share my experience with them in a way that confirms they are not alone in this battle,” she said. “Cancer is a scary word. No one wants to be in the pink ribbon club, but there are a lot of us here, and by God’s grace we can be there for one another.”
