As the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference brought together 50,000 people to discuss cancer research and progress, SurvivorNet hosted an meeting of incredible breast cancer survivors who spoke about the reality of facing the disease in its earlier stages— and moving on to live a full life after.

Some breast cancer survivors live with duality, like two sides of the same coin — grief and gratitude, fear and strength — which is often part of the survivor’s path.

Their answers reveal a common thread: hope lives in laughter, love, movement, and meaning. During SurvivorNet’s Breast Cancer Dialogues panel with inspiring survivors, Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky, head of Breast Medical Oncology at Valley Health System, posed the question: What might you say to someone facing a diagnosis and struggling to find a bit of light?

“I’m so sorry to tell you this,” said the doctor sitting next to me on December 18, 2018, “but it is breast cancer.”

I was 27-years-old when I was diagnosed with a type of cancer much more commonly found in older women. While it would have been emotionally appropriate for me to be angry, I don’t remember feeling that way initially. I distinctly remember being desperate to understand why the Lord was allowing this to happen. I didn’t suddenly doubt His goodness or sovereignty, but my mind couldn

And then I woke up.

And as the bright lights were seeping through my drowsy eyelids and I was numb from neck to hips, I heard a voice say, “It did spread to your lymph node.” My surgeon left to go get my family and I was left realizing reality was in opposition to my desire.

Anger and tears consumed me in an instant. Waves of emotion, partially due to the anesthesia and partially due to months of hope unrealized, crashed into me. And in those waves, I became swallowed by the whale. The next t

Happy October to you, my SPLENDEUR Sisters! For most of my life, this month has been marked by trips to Tanner’s (our local apple orchard / place of magical childhood nostalgia), celebrating my birthday midway through the month, and of course the visual entertainment of the changing leaves. But ever since my diagnosis of breast cancer in 2018, I am much more aware of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. That is why I am so excited to have this third and final article in my blog series coinc