In 2022, I heard the words that changed everything: You have breast cancer.

I wasn't expecting it. My mammogram had been clear the year before, and while I had a history of cysts, this one was new. It hadn't been there the previous year, and in that short time it had grown and turned cancerous. A biopsy confirmed it was ductal carcinoma in situ, an early stage of breast cancer.

The diagnosis shook me. I went through surgery and weeks of radiation. It was hard, it was draining, but it saved my life. I am grateful it was found, grateful I had access to care, and grateful to still be here.

That's why I walk, for myself, for every woman still fighting, for the ones who survived, and for the ones who didn't get the chance. I walk so more women can have what I had: early detection, treatment, and hope.

Life feels different now. Every day feels like a blessing, and if sharing my story helps even one person, or brings hope to another woman, then everything I went through has a greater purpose.

Thank you for walking this journey with me, and for helping us get closer to a world without breast cancer.