A breast cancer diagnosis turns life upside down. And often, the difficult news comes when you’re busy with other plans. It was the summer of 2016, and Monique Wilson was preparing to celebrate her 42nd birthday. Earlier that year, she had found a breast lump. Although her doctor initially wasn’t…
One of the most fearful aspects of a breast cancer diagnosis is the loss of control patients feel. For ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis Mentor Kathy Korducki, who was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) in 2018, the thought of losing her hair due to chemotherapy was worse than facing…
It was 2016 and an exciting but hectic time for 34-year-old Jessica Barolsky and her husband Michael. They had just welcomed Noah, their new baby boy, into the world to join his big sister, 3-year-old Yael. The former rabbi at Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun in River Hills, Wisconsin had also…
Even before her diagnosis, Dara Kumbera knew what it meant to battle breast cancer. In her family, the illness was a familiar and unwelcome occurrence: her mother, grandmother, and cousin had all passed away from the disease. Dara’s own diagnosis came in 1998, when she was only 30 years old.…
When Jennifer Kinkade, who goes by Jenn, moved from Florida to Wisconsin with her husband in the summer of 2022, she was beginning a new chapter. An occupational therapist, Jenn had accepted a full-time faculty position at a university in Milwaukee. Alongside teaching, she also runs a private practice that…
Faith, determination, and a fight-to-win mantra all helped Melodie Henderson get through more than a few bumps in the road during her cancer journey, which began in 2017. That November, Melodie had returned for a six-month follow up after doctors saw something suspicious on her previous mammogram. Though Melodie had been…
ABCD’s first Latina Mentor, Maria Nieves – a single mother, has lived with breast cancer for the last thirteen years. Her faith in God and ABCD have helped her through the times when the battle was not easy and giving up became her reality.
“Here and now.” That’s what matters most to ABCD Mentor Janice Cowden. She’s a mother, grandmother, and former pediatric nurse who’s also a passionate advocate for the metastatic breast cancer community. Janice was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. Nearly five years later, doctors told her she had developed…
Flo Cameron loves to laugh. But after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021, Flo faced moments of sadness that she describes as “some of the lowest times in my life.” Because she had a family history of the disease, Flo wanted to do everything possible to reduce her risk…
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