ABCD provides holistic care that medical providers cannot offer. Working as a complement to healthcare providers, MSW, Leanne Walz, discusses the value of having someone there who truly understands at this most vulnerable time in the life of someone who is dealing with breast cancer.
After losing her mother to breast cancer and learning she carries the BRCA2 mutation that puts her at high risk for breast, ovarian, and other cancers, Ivonne Harris didn’t hesitate to act. “As soon as I got the results, I knew what I wanted to do,” she says. For Ivonne,…
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…
When Beth Gramz felt a hard lump in her armpit in the fall of 2018, she chalked it up to the flu shot she’d received days earlier. A month later, the lump was still there, and now she had an adjacent one in her breast after doing a self-exam. “I…
When a loved one has breast cancer, family members and friends are affected as well. Kelli Krcma remembers supporting her sister, Kerry Claas, following Kerry’s diagnosis in 2001. Kerry was just 30 years old when she learned she had inflammatory breast cancer, a rare form of the disease that makes…
As a pediatric critical care pharmacist at Children’s Wisconsin, Lindsay Menard loves caring for young patients. At home in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, she and her husband are raising five children while filling their days with hiking, sports, and time outdoors. When life gets busy, Lindsay enjoys one of her favorite…
Mimi Nieves was used to being in control. A single mother with three young children, she worked full-time and always kept her household – and her life – running smoothly. As a member of the Latino community, and the youngest of eleven siblings, Mimi greatly valued her independence and her…
At the age of 26, Chiara Riga made a discovery that would reshape the trajectory of her life. One day as she was lying in bed, Chiara dropped her TV remote and it landed gently on her chest. When she reached down to retrieve it, her fingers brushed against an…
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.
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ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
ABCD does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.
ABCD does not provide medical advice, make diagnoses, or offer treatment options.
ABCD staff and volunteer Mentors are not licensed mental health professionals, therapists, social workers, or psychologists. They do not provide medical, therapeutic, or clinical advice. ABCD’s services are intended solely to offer peer-based emotional support and shared understanding through personal experience. If you need immediate mental health services, please reach out to your medical team or the National Hotline For Mental Health Crises And Suicide Prevention by dialing 988 on your phone.