Deborah Williams’s Story

What does Runway mean to you?

For Deborah Williams, Runway for Recovery feels different from other breast cancer events.

She loves the smaller, more personal feel of what Olivia and the Runway team have built. 

“The compassion that she has and the bonds that I formed as a metastatic patient with other metastatic survivors who get it,” Deborah says. “There’s just a connection that has never left.”

As someone living with metastatic breast cancer, Deborah knows that her experience is different from someone who completes treatment and moves on.

“We’re not done,” she says. “We’re never going to be done.”

Runway gives Deborah a place where that reality is understood. It also gives her a chance to feel celebrated, dressed up, pampered, and fully alive!

“It’s nice to be dressed up and pampered,” she says. “Who doesn’t want to be pampered every once in a while?”

 

How do you feel after a Runway show?

“I feel elated and alive,” she says. “And then I kind of hit a crash the next day.”

She compares it to finishing high school or college: there is joy, excitement, and celebration, followed by the feeling of wondering what comes next.

That feeling was especially strong after traveling to New York for the Runway show there. Being away for several days, connecting with people, and living inside the energy of the event made coming home feel quiet.

“You come home and you’re like, now what?” she says.

For Deborah, that speaks to how powerful the Runway experience is. It is not just one walk down a stage. It is connection, anticipation, celebration, and a reminder of life in its fullest form.

 

What has changed since we last checked in?

Since Deborah last shared her story, she has had a second breast cancer diagnosis.

She was first diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2014. Then, in 2023, she was diagnosed with a second breast cancer that was completely unrelated to the first.

“That’s been a whirlwind,” she says.

Physically, Deborah’s abilities have changed. Her cancer has affected her femur and lower spine, and she previously had reconstruction done on her femur. She may need another surgery, and her limp is more noticeable now.

Walking down a runway with a limp can feel upsetting, but Deborah keeps showing up.

“It is what it is,” she says.

 

Why does this year feel different?

This year feels emotionally heavier for Deborah.

Since March, she has lost four friends to metastatic breast cancer. She also has friends currently on hospice.

“I’ve lost more people in the past 12 months than I have personally known in the past 12 years,” she says.

That grief is real. It sits beside the joy and excitement of returning to Runway.

At the same time, Deborah is grateful that Runway includes metastatic models. 

“A lot of organizations don’t include metastatic,” Deborah says.

Runway does. And that matters.

 

How do you maintain your positivity?

Deborah stays active.

“Cancer hates exercise,” she says.

In 2021, Deborah left her job as a professor after 17 years and became a dog walker. She calls it one of the best decisions she has made.

Now, she walks four to five miles a day with dogs who love being outside. She swims several days a week and bikes about 50 miles a week during the summer. In the winter, she rides on a trainer.

“I’m always an active person,” she says.

For Deborah, movement is about more than physical strength. It helps her mindset. It keeps her focused on living.

Someone once told her something that has stayed with her:

“It takes more energy to worry about dying than it does to live.”

Deborah carries that with her.

“Spend your time living day to day instead of spending your time worrying about if you’re going to die,” she says.

She knows no one can predict what tomorrow will bring. She could live another 12 years. She could live two months. No one knows.

“So why not enjoy it?” she says.

 

What advice would you give someone new to Runway?

Deborah’s advice is simple: dance your heart out.

“Embrace the high fives,” she says.

She encourages new models to turn around and look at how far they have come from the day of diagnosis to the day they step onto the Runway stage.

Wherever someone is in their story, Deborah wants them to recognize their own power and strength.

“Embrace that you’re powerful, you’re strong,” she says.

She also reminds models that they deserve the spotlight.

“We’re being put on a spotlight on a stage as we should be,” she says.

We can’t to cheer Deborah on as she has a moment to shine on the Runway stage in Boston!