Callie Conroy’s Story

How has breast cancer affected your life?

Callie Conroy was first introduced to breast cancer when she was in fifth grade.

Her mother was diagnosed when Callie was young, and Callie watched her go through treatment. That experience stayed with her and helped shape the path she would one day take into nursing.

Today, Callie is an oncology infusion nurse.

Breast cancer has affected Callie from many angles: as a daughter, as a nurse, as a patient, and as a mother.

 

How were you diagnosed?

Because her mother had breast cancer, Callie always knew she was at higher risk.

She and her mom both had genetic testing, and neither carried a BRCA mutation. Still, Callie wanted to be proactive. She began getting mammograms at 29 because her mother had been diagnosed at 39.

Those mammograms were clear.

Then, because Callie has dense breasts, she asked her doctor to order breast MRIs. She had also taken a lifetime risk assessment, which put her risk around 27%.

Last fall, Callie had her first breast MRI.

That MRI found breast cancer.

“I was just shocked,” Callie says. “I thought I was being proactive and getting ahead of it.”

The cancer was stage zero DCIS, caught extremely early.

Callie chose to have a double mastectomy and reconstruction. Thankfully, doctors got everything. Her margins were clear, nothing was found in her lymph nodes, and she did not need tamoxifen or any additional treatment.

“My treatment is done,” Callie says. “I’m so lucky.”

 

How has this changed the way you think about advocacy?

Callie now feels even more strongly about helping other people understand their risk.

As a nurse, she was already proactive. But being diagnosed herself gave her a new perspective on what it means to move from the role of caregiver to patient.

She also knows that the MRI made all the difference.

“I feel like I’ve become more of an advocate,” Callie says.

Now, whenever she can, she encourages people to take the lifetime risk assessment, understand whether they are high risk, and ask their doctors about additional screening if they need it.

“Getting a breast MRI truly could have saved my life,” she says.

What was it like to go through this as a mother?

Callie has two young boys, ages five and two.

She and her husband told them that she was having surgery and that there was something that needed to be fixed. Once the surgery was done, they explained, everything would be okay.

The hardest part was not being able to lift them for more than six weeks.

Callie needed a lot of help from her husband and her parents. Her younger son had a harder time understanding, while her older son could process it a little more.

Now, her older son sometimes brings it up in his own way, asking if she is going to the doctor for the “boo-boo” that was fixed.

For Callie, walking with her boys will make the Runway experience even more meaningful.

 

Why are you walking with Runway this year?

Callie found Runway through following breast cancer accounts and seeing that the organization was looking for models.

At first, she thought it might be something she could do with her mom, who is coming up on 25 years cancer-free.

This year, Callie will walk on her own journey, just about one year after her diagnosis.

“I feel like it will be a celebration for me of how far I’ve come in this past year,” she says.

So much has happened in one year: diagnosis, surgery, recovery, returning to work, and finding herself on the other side of treatment.

Now, she is excited to celebrate that with her boys beside her.

 

What advice would you give someone newly diagnosed?

For Callie, the hardest part was the beginning.

The period right after diagnosis felt overwhelming: trying to understand what it meant, finding doctors, setting up appointments, and figuring out treatment.

Her advice is to slow down.

“Get multiple opinions,” she says. “Take your time deciding what you want to do.”

Callie also wants people to know that once a plan is in place, it can feel easier to breathe.

“Once I had a plan and a treatment plan, I felt so much better,” she says.

She encourages others to advocate for themselves, do their own research, and make the decisions that feel right for them.

This October, Callie will step onto the Runway stage with her two boys, honoring her mother’s survivorship, her own journey, and the importance of knowing your risk and advocating for the care you deserve.