Letter From Our Editor
B
Editor-in-Chief
Eugenia Miranda Richman
reast Cancer Awareness Month changed GMA3: What You Need
to Know anchor Amy Robach’s life. About nine years ago to the day (Oct. 1, 2013, to be exact), the then 40-year-old mom of two bravely had her first-ever mammogram on air — and what followed would alter her life. She was diagnosed with stage 2, invasive breast cancer, imminently undergoing a mastectomy and eight rounds of
chemotherapy.
“I’ve always believed, as a storyteller, in the power of one voice. Not everybody feels as comfortable sharing intimate
details about something so personal,” she
told SheKnows Health Editor Katherine
Speller for our cover story interview for
our first-ever Breast Cancer Awareness
digital issue. “But every time you share
your story, you impact the people around
you or the people who listen or hear it,” she
says. “ . . . And when you share your story with
vulnerability, you empower people to take
charge of their health.”
This month, and in this issue, we’re celebrating and supporting the survivors, the storytellers, who share their wisdom and inspire us to take action. Breast Cancer Awareness Month reminds women that “we’re all vulnerable, that any one of us is susceptible to breast cancer,” Robach says. “And then it’s on us to take charge and control our own health by getting mammograms, by seeing our doctors, by making our appointments and by keeping our appointments. And not just doing it once but doing it annually.” Read the full story to see how Robach’s cancer journey continues to change not just her own life, but the lives of others, too.
Speaking of change, SO much progress has been made in breast cancer research and treatment, and writer Lauryn Higgins reports on four of the most exciting developments. We’re also putting a spotlight on eight real women who are sharing the stories of their own breast cancer journey. And in a collection of thought-provoking personal essays, four writers open up about the myriad ways a breast cancer diagnosis changed their lives.
There’s power in sharing. There’s power in being vulnerable. There’s power in knowledge. And there’s power in action. We hope this issue will inspire you to act — to make a donation to a charity, for example (Breast Cancer Alliance is one that's close to our hearts) — and to get that mammogram.
Table of contents
ON THE COVER
Living With Purpose: GMA3s Amy Robach On What Comes After Surviving Breast Cancer
FEATURES
How To Cope With A Breast Cancer Diagnosis
4 Exciting Advances In Breast Cancer Research
How Storytelling Has Helped 8
Women Reclaim Their Power
Everything You Need To Know
About HER2+ Breast Cancer
This Free Program Helps Women With HER2+ Breast Cancer Get the Support They Need
What Trans & GNC People Must Know About Cancer Screenings
Living
Purpose
With
The journalist has found power in telling her breast cancer story — and she’s inspiring others to do the same.
GO TO THE COVER STORY
Photography by George Ginsee
How to Mentally (and Physically) Cope With a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
4 Advances in Breast Cancer Research Experts Are Most Excited About
BY CHLOE CASTLEBERRY
By Lauryn Higgins
iracosma /Adobe Stock
Good Studio/Adobe Stock
8 Breast Cancer Survivors Share How They’ve Reclaimed Their Power
By THEA GLASSMAN
SURVIVORS SPEAK
“Using my voice to share my story has been so empowering. As I existed in the purgatorial agony of awaiting official diagnosis with my biopsy result, there was a moment where I considered keeping everything a secret. I imagined myself investing in a really good wig and just hoping nobody noticed. Once I had the diagnosis, I ended up going in the opposite direction and have been very open. It has allowed me to see and receive the strength and love of my community.
I hope that, in some small way, I have been able to demystify a breast cancer diagnosis for folks facing this path. I have no family history of cancer, and so much of this world was unknown to me, which was in some ways the most terrifying part. By openly sharing this process, my goal is to help others feel less alone, less unsure of what might come next.
I’ve also been collaborating on a photo essay project with my dear friend Paulo Netto, beginning shortly after my diagnosis, and we’ll continue through reconstruction. We wanted to
READ MORE
explore how sexuality evolves through illness but does not end, particularly when the body part in question is so deeply tied to ideals of femininity within patriarchal norms. This particular element has helped me reclaim power over my own body, and feel connected to my own body, which can begin to feel exclusively medical when one is constantly poked and prodded and operated on and examined and imaged. I would never have predicted that being so open would be right for me, but it’s truly been an incredibly healing and powerful experience.” – Caileigh Scott
COLLAPSE
“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I wondered how I failed myself. I learned that one in eight women will be diagnosed in her lifetime, and I decided to turn my pain into purpose. Now I openly post topless photos and videos on social media, showing my mastectomy scars and flat chest, hoping that followers will pause and do their monthly self breast exams and schedule their mammograms.” — Rachel Garlinghouse
“There are not many good things that come out of having gone through cancer treatment, but perhaps the most important one is having a whole new appreciation for life, and how fragile, vulnerable and precious it is. I learned a lot along the way and sharing the knowledge that I gained helped me find some meaning in what I went through.” - Cristiana Bandeira de Mello
“Receiving a diagnosis of incurable cancer is hard. At times, you can feel very frightened and alone, even if you are a doctor. The diagnosis changes the equilibrium of living with a vague certainty of death to living with absolute certainty of death. You lose the opportunity to live life with the illusion that it won’t happen to you.It is difficult to explain to people what changes. It kind of feels like you’re walking on quicksand on a beach - one step or move in the wrong direction and you are sinking. Everyone else is walking on the beach with no knowledge of the potential danger or threat that surrounds them. Yes, we could all step out in front of a bus tomorrow and be run over but having incurable cancer doesn’t stop that from happening. A diagnosis of incurable cancer takes you from living life in the uncertain certainty of your own death to the certain certainty that it will happen; you lose the luxury of pretending you have all the time in the world. But one thing a cancer diagnosis also gave me is the knowledge that I need to make the most of every opportunity in life. To live and love well with my family, friends, and community because this is it. Adopting the mantra ‘Don’t Delay Fun!’” — Dr. Claire McLintock
“Sharing my story has definitely empowered me. I am taking control of my narrative, I am not allowing the cancer to have control of me. I am in the driver seat, not my cancer. This is something I strived to do from the second I was diagnosed as I felt like there was so much out of my control when it came to my treatment. I shaved my head on my terms because I didn’t want to give the cancer the power to take that from me when I started chemotherapy. This is just one part of my story, not some thing that’s going to define me and take over my life.”
– Elizabeth Lawton
“I've always believed in, as a storyteller, the power of one voice. Not everybody feels as comfortable, obviously, sharing intimate details about something so personal. But every time you share your story, you impact the people around you or the people who listen or hear it. And when you share your story with vulnerability, you empower people to take charge of their health. But you also, I think, resonate with people. Maybe it's not cancer, maybe it's something else traumatic — and just being able to share the pain and fear and realize that we're a community, we're here to lean on each other, we're here to support each other. It's the most powerful weapon against fear against that feeling of being alone.” — Amy Robach
“Sharing my Breast Cancer story via the Instagram @healingmycells was originally meant to strictly chronicle my journey (post mastectomy, through chemo and radiation). The voice I developed in my storytelling was powerful and crystal clear after a few posts. I did not allow preconceived notions of what others experienced effect me. Controlling my narrative…. writing a visual letter to my hair and letting her know that I did not need her….viewing my Chemo Treatments as ‘Healing Medicine’… naming my toes ‘chemotoe’ placing a bandaid with a daily painted smiley face on them (lost their nails) as a result of the Taxol treatments….choosing Joy and practicing Gratitude each day (regardless of external circumstances) and last but not least….dancing and performing at each treatment and doctor’s appointments (all things I enjoyed doing as a child and young adult)!
I want to teach others how to harness their own POWER, the way I did over the last 11 months of my life! Reclaiming my power is an understatement….I am now Carina 2.0! Glenda the Good Witch said it best, ‘You’ve always had the power my dear’….but why didn’t you tell her?….”She had to learn it for herself!’” — Carina Ranieri
“On March 4, 2014, two weeks before my birthday, I got that dreaded call on a Tuesday. It blindsided me. From that moment on, I felt a total loss of control over everything. It changed my life in ways I didn’t even realize until today. My family has been dealing with breast cancer for the last 25 years. Every single woman in my family has had it. I was the youngest to get diagnosed.
In 2017, a friend asked me to write about my experience, and for the first time since that phone call, I realized that sharing my story with people was one way of gaining control back. The amount of women and friends who have told me, ‘Hey, I saw your post and it made me schedule my mammogram.’ I’m from a family of unintentional storytellers, or maybe we just like to talk about our boobs a lot. My aunt’s cancer came back after 23 years, she recently had a double mastectomy. But she hasn’t stopped sharing her story with humor and vulnerability.
So, unfortunately our boob stories continue, but together we get to write our own narrative, tell terrible boob jokes, and hopefully get a few women to get checked earlier than they usually would have.” — Reshma Gopaldas
Everything You Need
to Know About HER2+ Breast Cancer Including How to Find Support
Post-Diagnosis
BY CHLOE CASTLEBERRY
This Free Program Helps Women With HER2+ Breast Cancer Get
the Support They Need
BY CHLOE CASTLEBERRY
What Trans and Gender
Non-Conforming People Should Know About Breast Cancer Screenings
By Sam Manzella
I Had a Mastectomy at Age 25
— Here’s Why I Documented
It With Before & After Photos
By Kell Iverson
Breast Cancer Made
Me a Better Mom
By Jennifer Bringle
Friends Ghosted Me When They Learned I Had Breast Cancer
& It’s Taken Me A Long Time
To Let Them Go
By Rachel GarLinghouse
SK VOICES
I’m a Doctor Who Was
Diagnosed With Breast
Cancer & Here’s How I Coped
By Dr. Claire McLintock
By Reshma Gopaldas
VIDEO
“I realized that fear is so powerful, and it
can either cripple you or motivate you.”
Know Your Boobs: Here’s
What to Look for When Giving
Yourself a Breast Exam
By Bethany Ramos
9 Mastectomy Tattoos
That Are Breathtaking
& Empowering
By Meredith Goldberg
Powerful Quotes From Breast
Cancer Survivors That Are
Guaranteed to Inspire You
By Katherine Speller
Supporting Breast Cancer Patients
& Survivors Goes Beyond Wearing Pink
By Meredith Goldberg
SK SHOPPING
17 Products Breast Cancer Patients
& Survivors Can Actually Use
By Caitlin Flynn
12 Mastectomy Swimsuits That
Are Totally Cute & Comfortable
By Katherine Speller
Best Mastectomy Bras
for Comfort & Style
By Katherine Speller
GO BACK TO THE TOP
Editor-in-Chief: Eugenia Richman
Deputy Editor: Erika Janes
Consulting Creative Director: Jennifer Ciminillo
Senior Food & Lifestyle Editor: Kenzie Mastroe
Health & Sex Editor: Katherine Speller
Parenting Editor: Rita Templeton
Entertainment Writer: Thea Glassman
Commerce Editor: Kristine Fellizar
Commerce Writer: Taylor Jeffries
Social Media Editor: Isabella Ong
Staff Writer: Delilah Gray
VP, Video: Reshma Gopaldas
VP, Content Development: Cristina Velocci
E-Commerce Manager: Summer Cartwright
Video Editors: Jacqueline Soller, Allison O’Connell
SheKnows Staff
everything bagel/Adobe Stock
eve /Adobe Stock
tasty_cat/Adobe Stock
Mary Long/Adobe Stock
Sakina_Bibi/Adobe Stock
ira_qiwi/Adobe Stock
Mary Long/Adobe Stock
Anna Ivonina/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Mary Long/Adobe Stock
Cienpies Design/Adobe Stock
Tartila/Adobe Stock
Amy Robach Is
SK VOICES
I Documented My Mastectomy
— Here’s Why
Breast Cancer Made Me A Better Mom
Friends Ghosted Me When They Learned I Had Breast Cancer & It’s Taken Me A Long Time To Let Them Go
When A Doctor Is Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
WATCH
Amy Robach Shares The Seismic Shift She Had With Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis
FEATURES
Your Guide To Giving Yourself A Breast Exam
Powerful Quotes From Breast Cancer Survivors
9 Mastectomy Tattoos That
Are Empowering
Supporting Breast Cancer Patients
Beyond Wearing Pink
SK SHOPPING
Best Mastectomy Bras
17 Products Breast Cancer Patients & Survivors Can Actually Use
Cute & Comfortable Mastectomy Swimsuits
ON THE COVER
Living With Purpose: GMA3s Amy Robach On What Comes After Surviving Breast Cancer
FEATURES
How To Cope With A Breast Cancer Diagnosis
4 Exciting Advances In Breast Cancer Research
How Storytelling Has Helped 8
Women Reclaim Their Power
Everything You Need To Know
About HER2+ Breast Cancer
This Free Program Helps Women With HER2+ Breast Cancer Get the Support They Need
What Trans & GNC People Must Know About Cancer Screenings
ON THE COVER
Living With Purpose: GMA3s Amy Robach On What Comes After Surviving Breast Cancer
FEATURES
How To Cope With A Breast Cancer Diagnosis
4 Exciting Advances In Breast Cancer Research
How Storytelling Has Helped
8 Women Reclaim Their Power
Everything You Need To Know
About HER2+ Breast Cancer
This Free Program Helps Women With HER2+ Breast Cancer Get the Support They Need
What Trans & GNC People Must Know About Cancer Screenings
SK VOICES
I Documented My Mastectomy
— Here’s Why
Breast Cancer Made Me A Better Mom
Friends Ghosted Me When They Learned I Had Breast Cancer & It’s Taken Me A Long Time
To Let Them Go
When A Doctor Is Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
WATCH
Amy Robach Shares The Seismic Shift She Had With Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis
FEATURES
Your Guide To Giving Yourself A Breast Exam
Powerful Quotes From Breast Cancer Survivors
9 Mastectomy Tattoos That
Are Empowering
Supporting Breast Cancer Patients
Beyond Wearing Pink
SK SHOPPING
Best Mastectomy Bras
17 Products Breast Cancer Patients
& Survivors Can Actually Use
Cute & Comfortable Mastectomy Swimsuits
Editor-in-Chief: Eugenia Richman
Deputy Editor: Erika Janes
Consulting Creative Director: Jennifer Ciminillo
Senior Food & Lifestyle Editor: Kenzie Mastroe
Health & Sex Editor: Katherine Speller
Parenting Editor: Rita Templeton
Entertainment Writer: Thea Glassman
Commerce Editor: Kristine Fellizar
Commerce Writer: Taylor Jeffries
Social Media Editor: Isabella Ong
Staff Writer: Delilah Gray
VP, Video: Reshma Gopaldas
VP, Content Development: Cristina Velocci
E-Commerce Manager: Summer Cartwright
Video Editors: Jacqueline Soller, Allison O’Connell