Dr. Cynthia Bailey is a dermatologist, BRCA 1 carrier, and triple-negative breast cancer survivor. As a doctor specializing in the treatment of skin conditions, her fight against cancer has given her a new understanding of the importance of skincare during chemotherapy and beyond. Although they’re necessary and life-saving for most women, cancer treatments can also […]

Despite losing both her mother and sister to metastatic breast cancer, LaTonya Davis wasn’t prepared to receive a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis just 6 months after her sister’s passing. “I was shocked,” LaTonya said, recounting how after her doctor saw something suspicious during a routine mammogram, he suggested she have a biopsy right away. Receiving […]

Rebecca Black was a survivor long before she tested positive for the BRCA gene mutation and endured a series of preventative surgeries to preserve her health.  As a childhood victim of sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of her schizophrenic mother and step-father, Rebecca developed a resilience that allowed her to thrive in spite […]

Tate and his mom had always been close. Before his stepfather came along, Tate, his younger brother, and their mom only had each other to rely on, so the boys had grown accustomed to helping out at home. But in 2018, when his mom decided to undergo a prophylactic mastectomy with DIEP flap reconstruction after […]

When Cora Fahy heard the words “it’s cancer” in April of 2015, she wasn’t completely surprised. After going through a divorce and losing several close friends and family members in recent years, receiving another piece of bad news was almost expected. What did surprise her though, was how surviving breast cancer gave her a new […]

Q: You were so young when you found the first lump in your breast and I understand that the main reason you’d been doing regular self-exams was that your friend was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 20’s. Do you think you would’ve noticed it if you hadn’t been inspired by your friend’s diagnosis?   […]

At just 30 years old, Lindsey Baguio Gerhard was newly married and settling into her first home with her husband when a pea-sized lump in her right breast changed everything. As Lindsey would soon learn, that lump turned out to be Stage 2 breast cancer which called for 2 rounds of fertility preservation and a […]

Karen Malkin Lazarovitz, founder of the 10,000 member BRCA Sisterhood Facebook group makes it happen. After her preventive surgeries and breast reconstruction 10 years ago, she started something special. Today, this supportive space for women diagnosed with BRCA buzzes with activity. She is also the woman behind BeautyOnMyTerms.com – and she is busy and frank. […]

A beautiful blond water scientist married a handsome entrepreneur a day shy of Valentine’s Day, last spring. The wedding was held in South Africa near the Vrede en Lust Wine Estate – a retreat for body, mind and spirit. Three weeks later she found a lump on her right breast. Although it was small a […]

In 1993, when Ivis Febus-Sampayo was nursing her second child, she had an odd sensation in her breast. She asked her doctor to check it out. He did not do much of anything. For more than 18 months she complained to him while living with discomfort and worry.  A dull feeling deep inside turned into […]

By Jane O. Smith at Stage Your Comeback Every year there is a celebration for cancer survivors on the first Sunday in June. National Cancer Survivors Day events are held across the country, to take note of their extraordinary milestones and successes. There are a number of guideposts to reach in order to be deemed […]

By Jane O. Smith at Stage Your Comeback If you were an executive human resources professional at a prestigious bank, newly diagnosed with breast and rectal cancer at the same time, how would your priorities change? What would take the place of your 20-year focus on customer service excellence and productivity? Added to the mix […]

By Jane O. Smith of Stage Your Comeback Breast cancer wipes you out for a time. It changes your body, it alters your mindset and it tests your ability to reclaim your best self. For Gloria Ortega, a one-year survivor, these were fighting words. Her estrogen-receptor negative, progesterone-receptor negative and HER2 negative diagnosis in 2016, demanded […]