Caitlin O’Neill knows what it means to survive—and thrive.
Today, she is on a mission to champion others in the Somerset Hills, show them that life is an ebb-and-flow and inspire them to meet challenges head-on through her “Ms. Chester” blog and her recently launched podcast “Keeping it Juicy.”
O’Neill brings a compassion and empathy to those she encounters, because, well, she’s “been there.”
At 28, she was diagnosed with Stage 3, HER2+ breast cancer after a self breast exam prompted her to go to the doctor. “It was a very aggressive cancer. I went to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York before transferring to the Basking Ridge location. I started chemotherapy, had a double mastectomy, then had radiation and Herceptin, an IV therapy,” she says. “One of the hardest parts was the radiation, because I had to go every day for 30 days, which was a lot for me physically and mentally.”
Afterward, she tried to return to life as usual. But life was not usual. “After treatment, you transition from being the center of attention to the real world where you have to figure out how to live after you’ve been through all the treatments. I suffered a depressive episode,” she says. “That was eight years ago, but I still remain vigilant.”
Her dedication to being productive kept her going. “I’m a workaholic who loves deadlines and getting things done,” she says. “I worked the entire time I was in treatment.”
O’Neill, who is a Registered Dietitian, became the vice president of operations for a few companies before deciding to strike out on her own, launching MC Marketing & Content and learning as she went. “After going through something so scary, I had less fear. I reflected on things more. My perspective changed,” she says.
Here, too, she thrived and today she hosts events and workshops and teaches people how to grow their business presence on Instagram.
The 35-year-old who grew up in Branchburg took on the mantle of “Ms. Chester” when she and her partner, Kim, moved to the bucolic town in 2018. “I wanted to start an Instagram blog on my daily life: my cancer journey, where he and I were eating and what we were doing in our new town,” she says.
The Ms. Chester blog flourished and today has 15,000 followers. “I don’t call myself an ‘influencer’; I’m just a local gal,” she says. “I try to be as truthful and transparent as possible—something I think is lost in the influencer social media world. I want to make people feel less alone.”
The “Keeping it Juicy” podcast continues O’Neill’s mission of connecting people and giving a nod to the universality of the struggles and successes all people have. “The podcast name reminds people that we are all juicy: We’re not overweight; we are perfect as we are,” she says.
She populates the podcast with followers as guests who share their life journeys in raw, transparent conversations. And, of course, O’Neill takes the lead. “I talk about things that people don’t necessarily discuss: cancer, eating disorders, relationships with alcohol,” she says. “My guests open up about trauma and setbacks, but we always return to how we are thriving now.”
And thriving O’Neill is, sharing her two-and-a-half acre homestead with Kim and their two rescue dogs, Pepper, a hound mix, and Barkley, a Bernese Mountain Dog and Rottweiler mix. “I love it here. I grew up around farms, and there’s so much greenery in the Somerset Hills. Plus, the people are amazing and down to earth. I love to hear their stories.”
Follow Ms. Chester at Ms.Chester_NJ.
