HELLO FRIENDS!

Happy New Year!

Is it too late to say that?!

I don’t care if it is! I hope the New Year brings you whatever you need.

For me, it is a year of milestones, which is SUPER exciting and equally scary.

January 2025 marks 10 years that I have been on a cancer journey.

Insert exploding head emoji here! 🤯

It seems like yesterday but also a lifetime ago. 

The last ten years have been life-changing, and if you have been following me for a while, you know how significant life events can be.

I am happy to say that I have been changed because of them, for good. 

But it also took me moment to get there.

When I was first diagnosed with cancer I treated it like a to-do list.

Surgery. Done.

Radiation Done.

First 3-month checkup. Done.

I was so desperate for it all to be…DONE.

I didn’t recognize at the time that I would never be DONE with cancer.

Starting regular therapy in 2015 at the recommendation of my oncologist was a game-changer as it helped me begin my lifelong relationship with cancer. This was a key piece to my journey. I was so grateful to have it when my cancer reoccurred at the end of 2019, bringing me to my second big milestone this year.

As of June 2025, it will be the 5th anniversary of my last treatment. (This also brings up associated milestones; first chemo, last chemo, head shave!)

I often say I am on a treatment break, for a very long time and by some miracle forever.

I say it with confidence but it is something that terrifies me. Some days more than others (you can bet the scanxiety period being the worst!)

It is a different feeling from my first time because then I had the Fear of Recurrence (most all cancer patients do) but now having experienced a recurrence at a more advanced stage I know the probability of another one is stronger. I also know my cancer is one of my managing versus cure.

It is something I don’t talk about a lot because not a lot of people “get it.” Sometimes, and I know it isn’t intentional on their end, if I talk about the facts of my cancer, the grade of it, or use the word metastatic. I see the fear in their eyes which is hard for me.

I know realistically most people are ignorant when it comes to cancer, and I don’t mean that in a rude way. If you haven’t experienced cancer firsthand, you tend to base your knowledge on what you have seen in the movies or what you heard about a friend of a friend. You don’t have the facts or have researched cancer because you haven’t had to, which is a good thing.

The reality is simple: people are living longer with cancer.

Survivorship (I am not a fan of that word but I will use it for this explanation) is on the rise. As my therapist said to me during my early days of recurrence when I wasn’t sure if I would make it through; “Stage 4 isn’t what it once was.” (I can’t tell you how much I have clung to that, not only because it is true but because it gave me hope in such a dark time.)

I am doing well right now on my cancer journey, and I am so proud of that.

It isn’t easy. It isn’t about just going for my surveillance (although that is important!) It is about how I have built a strong healthcare team to help me on my journey, how I have been a strong healthcare advocate for myself, and how I have DONE THE WORK!

I can’t control cancer but you beat you’re a$$ I am working on the areas I can control about living with cancer. 

Yes, these milestones are without a doubt a CELEBRATION!

But they also bring an element of fear. The “I have never gone 5 years without a recurrence” fear. The “They told me I was only on a break from treatment so when is the other shoe going to drop” fear. All of the realities of my circumstances.

The only thing I can do is feel all the feels as they come, and process them as you do.

My main goal is – trying to focus on the now versus what happened in the past or what could happen in the future.

One of the things in “the moment” that I am very excited about during this year of milestones is some of the “additions” I am bringing to the work that I do.

Last year I began the work towards becoming a Certified Journal Therapy Coach, and on December 31st, 2024, I finally completed all the learnings and requirements for my certification.

It is a certification that I was interested in not just for my “always learning” mindset but because I thought it would be a perfect compliment to the work I do as a Life and Career Enthusiast.

Journaling is a big part of my life and I want to help those interested in it to realize the power it can have for your well-being.

Don’t let the title of the certification fool you, I am not a therapist! I am a Journal Coach helping those wanting to embark on a journaling practice.

I often give journal prompts to those I work with to help them reflect and/or connect their learnings back to their real life. Now I have a deeper toolkit on journal coaching to apply for the people I work with.

I will also be integrating it into my course “Your Career After…”

It is also time to revive my course for my cancer community. Gilda’s Club Toronto reached out to me to do my  “Your Career After Cancer” course virtually in the fall for the Gilda’s Community. Best believe I will have some journaling elements in that one too!

I am also working on a cool opportunity to merge two of my loves; journaling (and you will have to wait to see what the other one is!)

I am looking forward to connecting with a wider audience. More on that event coming soon!

If you think journaling will be helpful to you as you navigate this new year join me on my Tea with Jenn on Instagram LIVE on January 21st where I will be talking all things journaling! If you can’t make the date, don’t worry it will be recorded and posted to my Instagram!

In the spirit of my new certification, I would like to close this first blog post of the year with a journal prompt:

“What are your milestones for this year? Why are they meaningful to you? How will you recognize them? How will it influence your year? If it won’t, why not?”

There is something special about a milestone, and it is a good time to reflect on why it is important to you, good or bad, and be clear on how it might inform your year.