Andrea Dean’s Story

When you think about your breast cancer story, where does it begin?

Andrea’s story began in February 2024, when she had a mammogram after being monitored every six months for calcifications. The results were clear.

Three weeks later, she was in the shower doing a self-check when she felt something.

“I had just had my mammogram,” she says. “And that’s not to scare you. That’s to tell you that you need to check yourself, and you need to have faith in yourself that you know your body.”

Andrea called right away and was brought in for diagnostic testing. About a week and a half later, while she was at work with a client, she got the call: she had HER2-positive breast cancer and would need to start chemotherapy within two weeks because it was aggressive.

“I was now going to face one of the hardest things I’ve ever faced in my life,” she says.

Andrea was 41.

 

What was one of your first thoughts?

Andrea remembers the phone call clearly. Even in the panic of hearing the words breast cancer, her mind went immediately to something deeply personal and deeply connected to her work.

“I still remember that I said, ‘But what about my hair?’”

As a hairstylist, Andrea had spent years helping other women through hair loss. She had shaved heads in bathrooms and private homes, witnessing just how emotional and traumatic that moment could be. Now, she was the one facing it.

“Hair is so psychological for women,” she says. “It is not just hair. It is your identity.”

Because of her diagnosis and treatment plan, Andrea chose to cold cap.

“I feel like that is a huge part of my journey,” she says.

 

What did treatment look like for you?

Andrea began treatment within two weeks of her diagnosis. Her plan included chemotherapy, Herceptin, and Perjeta. She was told she would need 17 infusions total.

After the chemotherapy portion of treatment ended, Andrea underwent a double mastectomy with reconstruction. Because she is self-employed, the physical and financial realities of treatment were immediate.

“I’m a hairstylist, so I was out of work. I wasn’t getting paid,” she says. “It was going to be financial hurdles, but it was also going to be physical hurdles.”

Andrea knew that returning to work would not be simple. Her job requires her to stand, blow-dry, lift her arms, and use her body all day.

“What’s that going to look like?” she remembers wondering.

Still, she was determined to keep moving and return when she could.

“I needed to stay moving and work during this treatment because it was going to help me mentally, but it was also going to help me physically,” she says.

 

What was it like going back to work after surgery?

After her double mastectomy, Andrea took 12 weeks off before returning to the salon. Even then, her surgeon was cautious.

Because her reconstruction was under the muscle, going back to such a physical job required care and compromise. Her surgeon eventually agreed, but with limits.

“He bargained with me and said, ‘Okay, no blow drying.’”

For Andrea, returning to work was not only physical. It was emotional.

“When it was time to go back to work, it was like, wow, I’m standing in front of a mirror,” she says. “Who is this person?”

 

How did cold capping shape your experience?

Cold capping gave Andrea something to focus on during treatment.

“I focused on things that I could control,” she says. “And I was pretty proud of myself, to be honest.”

“I lost half my hair, but I was able to go to the grocery store, and people that didn’t know me didn’t know,” she says.

As both a survivor and a stylist, Andrea now talks often about cold capping and the importance of giving patients options.

“If I had the choice to go bald or lose half my hair, I’d rather lose half my hair,” she says. “Some people are okay with it, and that’s okay. But there are a lot of people that are not, and it really breaks them down.”

 

What do you want people to understand about hair loss and breast cancer?

Andrea wants people to know that hair loss is not superficial.

Breast cancer treatment can take away hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, breasts, skin health, nail strength, and so many physical pieces tied to identity and femininity. Andrea understands that on both a personal and professional level.

“People will say, ‘It’s just hair,’ or ‘It’s just eyebrows,’” she says. “That is not it. It is not just hair. It is your identity.”

That understanding has shaped how she supports others now. She knows that preserving or rebuilding pieces of beauty can also help restore a sense of self.

 

What did you learn about accepting help?

Andrea describes herself as independent and used to being the doer. Accepting help was not easy.

“I don’t like help,” she says. “I’m a doer. I’m independent. That was a huge hurdle for me to get over.”

But she learned that accepting help does not only support the person in treatment. It can also help the people around them feel like they are doing something meaningful.

“People don’t know what to do, so they just want to help,” she says. “You have to let them.”

In the end, Andrea embraced her community as they organized a meal train that continued through treatment and after her double mastectomy. People also offered to drive her daughter to school and help with everyday needs.

“It takes a village,” she says.

 

What advice do you give others now?

“You know your body,” she says. 

Because her cancer was found just weeks after a clear mammogram, she tells people to trust their own awareness of their bodies.

She also encourages people in treatment to find something they can focus on—something that gives them a sense of control in a chapter that can feel overwhelming.

For Andrea, that was cold capping, learning about resources, staying connected to her work, and helping others navigate the same road.

 

What organizations or resources helped you or stood out to you?

During treatment, Andrea spent time researching nonprofits and resources that directly support patients, especially those connected to beauty, identity, and financial relief.

She has shared resources with her care team and other survivors, including HairToStay, which helps with cold capping assistance; Look Good Feel Fab, which offers oncology-safe facials and wellness support; and Ink for Pink, which helps breast cancer survivors access services such as microblading, nipple tattoos, and scar-covering tattoos.

As a hairstylist and survivor, Andrea sees these resources as more than cosmetic.

“They’re not just beauty things,” her story reminds us. They are pieces of recovery, confidence, and feeling like yourself again.

 

How does it feel to be joining Runway?

Andrea had known about Runway before applying, and Ashley helped her learn more about the community. What resonated most was Runway’s direct support for patients and families.

“Someone like me that’s self-employed—it’s huge to have organizations like Runway for Recovery,” she says.

Now, Andrea is stepping onto the Runway stage as a survivor, a stylist, a mother, and someone using her experience to make the path a little less lonely for others. She is reminding others to trust themselves, accept the village around them, and never underestimate the power of feeling like yourself.