Kathryn Lavey: When Support Comes Full Circle

— By Megan Brown, Marketing Manager

February 23, 2026

Kathryn Lavey was 36, married to her high-school sweetheart, raising a three-year-old daughter, and working as creative services manager at Visit Milwaukee when she found a lump in her breast. “I put it off for a while thinking it’s just hormone cycles. Finally, I made an appointment to follow up because it wasn’t going away,” she recalls.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic began. “I canceled my first appointment because everything was shutting down and people were trying to stay away from hospitals,” she says. “I made another appointment for two weeks later because at the time everyone thought the pandemic would be over by then.”

When she was sent for a mammogram, Kathryn was the only patient there. The mammogram escalated to an ultrasound and biopsy within an hour. “The doctor and nurse were handing me pamphlets on breast surgeons and saying this is most likely cancer.”

Her official diagnosis came April 2, 2020, in the earliest weeks of COVID-19, when uncertainty had already started to define daily life.

Facing Cancer and Getting Support From ABCD

Much of Kathryn’s early care happened virtually, including telehealth visits and at-home genetic testing, while hospitals adapted to the pandemic.

Soon after her diagnosis, she contacted ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis and was matched with a Mentor named Krista.

“Not only did she also have a partner and kid, she had similar treatment,” Kathryn says. “We talked about reconstruction options and what to expect.”

That guidance became critical when Kathryn’s plan for a single mastectomy with immediate DIEP flap reconstruction changed. With the discovery of lymph node involvement during surgery, her reconstruction options and timing were altered. Chemotherapy and radiation were now part of her treatment.

Kathryn developed a serious infection, and once she recovered, she started chemotherapy. Radiation followed, and she finished active treatment in 2021. After waiting another year, she chose to have a mastectomy on the other side and was able to get the DIEP flap reconstruction she had hoped for from the beginning.

Parenting Through Treatment

Through it all, Kathryn continued to care for her young daughter. “That was tough, but three is a very loving age,” she says.

Children’s books helped explain what was happening. “She had a toy stethoscope and doctor pajamas. She checked on all her stuffed animals and me.”

Support from Kathryn’s close-knit family surrounded them, but the emotional reassurance from her Mentor who had been there remained uniquely grounding.

“It helped hearing from someone who actually understands,” Kathryn says.

Carrying the Support Forward

It was 2024 when Kathryn learned her Mentor Krista had died from metastatic breast cancer. “It hit hard,” she says.

The loss changed how Kathryn viewed her own survivorship and what she wanted to do with it. “I wanted to be more open about my story and help people going through it.”

After completing ABCD’s Mentor Training in September 2024, Kathryn began supporting others impacted by breast cancer. To date, she has been matched with six Participants across the country. “They’re all different. Some have partners or kids, some don’t. They may be starting their treatment or in the thick of it,” she says. “You share what you’ve learned and help them find their path forward.”

The conversations are often far-reaching. “We’ve talked about partners, even sexual health,” she says. “People are very vulnerable, which allows you to be vulnerable too.”

For Kathryn, mentoring is a way to honor the memory of Krista. “It’s the club no one wants to be in, but there are really special people in it.”

She also sees a natural connection between mentoring and her professional life. “I think it aligns with a lot of what I do at Visit Milwaukee, which is being present in the community we live and trying to leave it a better place.”

Living With Perspective

Kathryn’s breast cancer experience reshaped how she approaches life, particularly her sense of pace and priorities. “I can’t do it all and I don’t have to do it all,” she says. “I have to say no sometimes and ask for help.”

She now shares that perspective with those she mentors, encouraging them to give themselves permission to slow down, process, and heal.

Kathryn also emphasizes awareness. “Breast cancer can happen at any age. Pay attention to your body and advocate for yourself.”

Looking back, she sees ABCD as part of the foundation that carried her through diagnosis and beyond. “I was so lucky to have an amazing support team and ABCD was definitely part of that.”

Today, Kathryn offers that same support to others, showing that the person who receives support can become the one who gives it.

Kathryn was diagnosed in April 2020 with Stage 1 ER+ PR+ HER2- invasive ductal carcinoma. Her treatment included chemotherapy, radiation, a bilateral mastectomy with DIEP flap reconstruction, and ovarian suppression.