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Beth C. McLaughlin

@bethmclaughlin25

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27 years with this guy!! 💒 In the blink of an eye 💖How lucky am I? 🥂☺️ by @bethmclaughlin25

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14 days ago

Y’ALL!! Today was my last day of active cancer treatment! 😊 After 14 months of tests, doctor visits, scans, chemo, surgery, radiation, then more chemo, I AM DONE! 🎉🎉🎉 by @bethmclaughlin25

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21 days ago

Hello! 👋 I was given the opportunity to share my recent experience at the Newport Aquatic Center-We Are Ocean camp. The blog captures the magic of my week at WAO, the 16 months leading up to it, and how the experience has helped me envision a path forward post-treatment. So I thought I’d share here in case anyone is interested in checking it out.

At the end, there’s a fundraising link for NAC-WAO. Please consider a donation of any size so that other cancer patients and survivors can benefit from this life-changing experience. Link in bio and : https://newportaquaticcenter.com/no-ceiling-only-sky-finding-my-way-forward-at-camp-wao/ by @bethmclaughlin25

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22 days ago

by @bethmclaughlin25

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a month ago

Last week I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the NAC’s We Are Ocean camp
on Catalina Island. This unforgettable program is offered to people living with cancer, leveraging the restorative power of the ocean for healing, recovery, and connection. 🌊☀️A life-changing experience, it gave me space, time, and stillness to reflect on the past year since my breast cancer diagnosis, along with the courage to envision a path forward post-treatment.
It was such a privilege to be in community with the incredible staff and wonderful
campers—beautiful humans one and all. And to be immersed in the beauty of Catalina Island is a soul-shifting experience I will never forget. 🦊🐬🐜🦌
The camp is offered completely free to participants, made possible through the generosity of donors and fundraising efforts. I’m so grateful for what We Are Ocean has given me, and I want to help ensure others can have that same opportunity. Y’all have been so generous this past year-I hope you will consider continuing your support with a donation to @nac_weareocean. https://pro.gofundme.com/fundraiser/7498291 by @bethmclaughlin25

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2 months ago

I just spent a week at cancer camp on Catalina Island through a wonderful program, @nac_weareocean. I’ll be posting more about the amazing experience I had and all the incredible campers and staff, but for now I had to share this encounter with a Catalina Fox, who snuck into our cabin late night looking for some snuggles. They are the sweetest creatures—gentle, docile, and adorable af. But still…what a way to wake up! 🦊#catalinafox #campcritters #snugglebug by @bethmclaughlin25

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2 months ago

Happy birthday to this incredible, kind, whip-smart, funny, beautiful human! 🥳🌈🪩🎉I love you so much, @katemclaughlinn_ 🩷 #thisis20 by @bethmclaughlin25

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2 months ago

📣📣 Guess who’s back on the pitch? ⚽️ 🤩💥After a brief hiatus, @katemclaughlinn_ walked on to the UMass Women’s Soccer team, an absolutely incredible accomplishment for D1 athletics. I am just so proud of her drive, resilience, and goddamn talent, and I can’t wait to cheer her on from the sidelines this season. 🔥🔥🔥🔥 #umass #d1soccer #proudmama♥️ #umasswsoccer by @bethmclaughlin25

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3 months ago

We had an amazing time sailing with @sailbeyondcancernewport last weekend. ⛵️ This fantastic organization and their volunteers offer 3-hr sailing excursions for those fighting cancer, in survivorship, or dealing with the loss of a loved one from cancer. The respite and joy they offer on the water is indescribable. Thank you to the captain, crew, and entire organization! So grateful 🙏🏻❤️ taken in Portsmouth, Rhode Island by @bethmclaughlin25

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3 months ago

🩷 A year ago today I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer following a routine mammogram screening. I was Stage 1, but because the cancer is very aggressive, so was the treatment. On August 7, I got my port installed, and on August 14, I started IV chemotherapy—Adriamycin or its charming nickname “the red devil.” 4 rounds of the red devil followed by 4 rounds of Taxol lasting a total of 16 weeks.
During the chemo process, I lost all the hair on my entire body, developed neuropathy in my hands and feet, and felt like I had been hit by a truck most days. But I made it through.
On December 11, I had a lumpectomy to remove the tumor along with the removal of 4 lymph nodes. They also removed my port, which felt like an AirTag right under the skin and I hated it. Thankfully, the chemo did its job (mostly), leaving only 10% active cancer cells in the tumor, and my lymph nodes were clear. 🙏🏻 But because the cancer wasn’t totally eradicated, 6 months of an oral chemo was added to my treatment plan following radiation. 😒
On February 10, I began 19 daily cycles of radiation, which left me with severe burns, numbness, and crushing fatigue.
On April 17, I began my 6 months of oral chemo, 8 pills each day, the last of which I’ll take on September 24.
I’ve been pretty private about my diagnosis and treatment, especially in the first six months when I was just focused on getting through IV chemo. I kept my circle small, while knowing that I could access a much larger support network if I needed to, and for that I am so grateful.
Today as I look back over this past year, I really can’t fucking believe it. Like seriously, what in the hell?! Like many people, cancer is something I always feared but never truly expected, at least until later in life, but it arrived at my doorstep, unbidden and unwelcome, and I had no choice but to let it in and figure out how to cohabitate until I could show it the door. And thankfully, with the end of treatment on the horizon, it’s starting to pack up its things. (Continued on next slide)

On this one year anniversary of my diagnosis, I’m sharing these details and this reflection with gratitude, love, and a new understanding of by @bethmclaughlin25

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3 months ago

Summertime #newenglandsummer by @bethmclaughlin25

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3 months ago

What a beautiful weekend celebrating my mom in her favorite place, Little Compton. Huge heartfelt thanks to all my family and friends for making it such a meaningful day. I’m grateful to have been surrounded by so much love, which is, of course, her legacy. Heaps of appreciation to @sakonnet_farm_stays for providing such a perfect home base for the weekend. My mom would’ve loved every minute of it. by @bethmclaughlin25

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4 months ago