CAIT LOWRY

ENTREPRENEUR. OUTDOOR ADVENTURER.

MEET CAIT LOWRY

A lover of nature and adventure with a wicked wit, in 2019 Cait Lowry was living life on her own terms.  She was managing two locations of the popular “The Coffee Bar” in the heart of Washington, D.C. that she established on her own.  Having grown up in the mountains of Utah immersed in the tourism industry, Cait had discovered that her greatest joys and closest connections all came from working in coffee shops. After working tirelessly year after year for other people executing their visions, Cait decided to take the plunge and open her own coffee shop.  Determined to explore her own vision without being constrained by ideas of someone else, she wanted to make her successes and even her failures her own.

During a routine physical in Sept. 2019, Cait’s doctor discovered a pea-sized lump in her breast that was dismissed as a benign cyst following a mammogram and ultrasound. A year later, the lump had grown to the size of an apricot. Despite concerns about the pandemic, Cait sought medical attention, enduring almost 10 biopsies in several different areas of her breast before learning that she had stage IIB, ER/PR-, HER2 + breast cancer. She was shocked, overcome with anger, fear, anxiety, and sadness as she began treatment that included twelve weeks of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, the removal of her lymph nodes, and HER2 therapy would continue for a year. Because of the pandemic, Cait faced almost every treatment and her surgery alone.

Nearing the end of her treatment, Cait became nervous, feeling as if she were being released into the wild without the skills she needed to survive. She was seeking a new direction, a new routine, and a way to manage her well-being. It was then that Cait discovered the iRise Above Foundation. She started in the iRise Above Wellness Program during treatment and continues to participate to this day. In October 2021, she showed off her canyoneering skills on the Utah Multi-Sport Adventure in a feature on the iRise Above Foundation on The Today Show, just a few days before her last HER2 infusion.

Cait lives in Cottage City, Maryland, with her partner, Jason, and their fur baby Twiggy.

WHAT IS THE SECRET TO MAINTAINING A POSITIVE OUTLOOK?

Keeping a positive outlook isn’t easy and it is something that will be a lifelong struggle for me. It takes a huge amount of effort to stay “up” all of the time, as it would for anyone. But one thing I’ve learned is that I don’t need to be perfect and perky all the time; that there will be ups and downs, and I can allow myself to feel how I feel in the moment. Learning this was almost a relief, and that alone sparked in me a more positive mindset overall. Being compassionate with myself, accepting myself for who I am, and not forcing myself to feel one way or another ultimately led to a more positive way of viewing things. I also think maintaining a sense of gratitude and perspective helps to ground me and live more in the present. I stop, take a breath, and look at the world around me, and in doing so I realize how lucky I am to have the life that I am living right now.

WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT DECISION YOU’VE HAD TO MAKE TO PURSUE YOUR DESTINY?

I believe life is like one of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books: We are faced with a series of choices, good and bad, and every choice leads us to where we are in the here and now. In my case, I look back at the choices I’ve made and while at the time they may not have seemed like they would be that impactful, upon reflection, they have all led me to where I am today. Taking the plunge to start my own business was both terrifying and exciting and there were so many times I doubted myself. I left the comfort and security of working for others in pursuit of an opportunity that would allow my successes, and more importantly my failures, to be my own. Ultimately, I can’t imagine myself doing anything else and for better or worse, I’m so glad I pushed myself to make that decision. My closest relationships and connections in my life have all come from “choosing that adventure,” and while it may not be my “destiny” per se, I definitely feel I’m right where I’m supposed to be right now.

WHAT IS THE BEST LIFE LESSON THAT TOOK YOU THE LONGEST TO LEARN?

Thoughts are not reality. We spend so much time in our own heads worrying, ruminating, and playing out so many potential scenarios that ultimately never come to fruition. We have ideas in our minds of what other people think of us and how they see us when, in fact, what you’re imagining is far worse than reality and most of the time is wrong. This lesson took me a long time to both learn and incorporate into my daily life. That, along with learning that hair will eventually grow back! My teenage self with pink hair could have benefitted from that knowledge as opposed to my continuously dying and chopping my locks every which way in attempts to “fix” it. Losing my hair to chemo was almost a blessing in disguise; it gave me the opportunity to hit the reset button as it taught me that the reality of it was not as horrible as I had imagined. In a way, hair almost became a metaphor for the larger things I had fretted over.

BREAST CANCER RELATED

WHAT IS THE MOST POSITIVE THING TO COME OUT OF YOUR BREAST CANCER JOURNEY?

Before I had breast cancer, I never had any close relationships with women. And I have to admit, I can’t say that that was a part of life I felt like I was somehow missing out on. After being bullied by girls when I was younger, I almost became untrusting of women. But after going through this experience and being able to talk to, listen to, and learn more about so many different incredible women. I’ve cultivated friendships and gone on adventures that I never would have if I hadn’t gone through this transformative experience of cancer. I honestly feel now like I can achieve anything with the support of such a strong base of extraordinary women, all of whom have gone through both similar and different experiences but are bonded by the common thread of coping with breast cancer. I treasure these new relationships and know I will keep them for life.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOURSELF WHEN YOU WERE FIRST DIAGNOSED?

Cancer does not define you. You are still yourself; don’t allow it to have too much power over you. Ride the wave of emotions and allow yourself to feel what you feel; be it fear, anger, anxiety, or shock (or all of them at the same time!). There’s no one right way to handle this kind of life changing news and you’re not wrong or alone in feeling so many different emotions at once. Take it one appointment, one treatment at a time and let the people who care about you help. You don’t have to do this by yourself. And most importantly, breathe.

BIG PICTURE

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE?

When you find out, let me know! If there’s anything life has taught me up to this point, it’s that there’s not a “one-size-fits-all” experience that we should all aim for. Each of us are on our own paths; some are bumpy, some are smooth. Sometimes they zig zag, other times they can come full circle. You may have some short cuts, but you’ll inevitably hit some dead ends, and a cancer diagnosis is a not so gentle reminder of this.

The more time we spend trying to figure things out for a future that is unknown is more time that is lost living in and appreciating the present. The present is where we should be making new connections, deepening our existing relationships, and going on new adventures as we continue down our own unique paths. Bil Keane of The Family Circus, put it best: Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.