Robyn Stoddard’s Story

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

Robyn’s story is still unfolding.

“I’m in the middle of everything,” she says.

At 54, Robyn had been getting mammograms regularly since she was 40. She had no family history of breast cancer, no genetic markers, and no reason to expect that anything would change.

“I’ve been doing mammograms since I was 40 and never had anything,” she says. “And then suddenly, it changed everything.”

Robyn is a veterinarian with a PhD in comparative pathology and works at the CDC as a microbiologist. Her medical and scientific background has helped her understand the flood of information that comes with a diagnosis, but it has also made her deeply aware of how overwhelming the experience can be for people who do not have that same foundation.

“My husband even said to me, ‘I’m so glad that you understand everything, so I don’t have to help you figure it out,’” she says. “I can’t imagine going through this without a medical background.”

 

How did you find Runway for Recovery?

Robyn found Runway in a way that felt unexpectedly meaningful.

She had her first oncology appointment on Boston Marathon Monday. Later that day, she was on social media watching posts from runners, including someone running the marathon for Dana-Farber. As a runner herself, something about the day and the energy around the race stayed with her.

“I was watching all the inspiration, and I was like, you know what? I’m going to run the Boston Marathon next year.”

That week, she started looking through the charities connected to the marathon and found Runway for Recovery.

Soon after, following another appointment, she checked her phone and saw the email: she had been selected to model.

“I had just finished with my reflector insertion, and I had the mammogram,” she says. “I went out, looked at my phone, and that’s when I got the email that I was selected.”

For Robyn, the timing gave her something joyful to look toward in the middle of a chapter that still did not feel entirely real.

“It’s so out of my comfort zone,” she says. “But having something happy to look forward to, the fashion show, has really helped.”

 

What has this experience felt like so far?

Because Robyn was newly diagnosed and still awaiting surgery at the time of this interview, the diagnosis had not fully sunk in yet.

“It’s not real to me yet,” she says. “Since I haven’t had surgery yet, it’s still weird for me to be like, I have cancer.”

Listening to other people’s stories has helped her begin to feel less alone, even as she is still finding her place in a community she never expected to join.

“I don’t feel part of the community,” she says. “It’s so not real.”

At the same time, Robyn is already thinking ahead. Her surgery, treatment, and recovery are all part of the immediate road in front of her, but Runway has become a milestone on the horizon.

“I feel like it’s going to be such great timing to come and be around so many people,” she says.

 

Can you share more about your diagnosis and treatment plan?

Robyn’s cancer was found early through a routine mammogram. Because she describes herself as a worrier, her first instinct was to ask for a double mastectomy.

“I was like, I just want a mastectomy. I want it done,” she says.

But her surgeon pushed her to consider a different path.

“She was like, absolutely not,” Robyn remembers. “I will not do a double mastectomy on you.”

Robyn had negative genetic testing and no family history, so her care team talked through other options. She had an MRI for additional clarity, and her plan became a wider surgical margin paired with plastic surgery to help even things out.

“She’s going to take a wide margin, and then the plastic surgeon is going to come in and do a reduction on the other side,” Robyn says.

After surgery, her team will review margins and oncotype results to determine whether chemotherapy is needed. Radiation is expected to be part of her treatment.

“I’m hoping the oncotyping comes back and I don’t need chemo,” she says.

 

What has helped you navigate the early days after diagnosis?

For Robyn, one of the most helpful things has been talking to other women who have had breast cancer.

“It’s talking to all the women I know who’ve had it,” she says.

Even with a medical background, she has been struck by how many nuances exist within a breast cancer diagnosis.

“I don’t think people realize, even friends with medical backgrounds, that I could have the same breast cancer diagnosis as somebody else, but there are so many other factors that go into what your treatment is,” she says.

That complexity is part of why she believes support and advocacy matter so much.

“If you can have somebody with a medical background come with you to your appointments or call in, I think it’s so helpful,” she says.

Robyn is used to gathering information, making checklists, and understanding complicated science. What she is still learning is how to accept help.

“The thing I’m not good at is asking for help,” she says. “So we’ll see how that goes.”

 

Why did Runway’s mission resonate with you?

Robyn was drawn to Runway not only because of the Boston Marathon, but because of the organization’s focus on supporting patients and families directly.

“I love that you’re supporting breast cancer patients and families,” she says. “Because it is so much.”

Robyn knows she has support: good insurance, financial stability, a medical background, and a strong community around her. But she also knows that is not everyone’s reality.

“I know everybody at work wanted to do something for me, and I was like, ‘Can you divert it to her? I’m okay,’” Robyn says of a coworker also navigating breast cancer. “That’s what you guys do. You support the women that need it.”

For Robyn, that mission feels deeply aligned with what she has seen personally and professionally: a diagnosis does not happen in isolation. It touches work, family, finances, schedules, mental health, and every part of ordinary life.

 

Why did you decide to share your experience publicly?

Robyn knew early on that she wanted to use her experience to educate others.

“I like doing educational stuff on social media,” she says. “So I very much wanted to post about my experience of having breast cancer.”

She began sharing in real time: biopsies, appointments, procedures, and the steps many people never see.

“I know so many women who had breast cancer, but they don’t really talk about what they go through,” she says.

The response has already been powerful.

“I’ve gotten like 10 women to get mammograms,” Robyn says. “Multiple women have said, ‘I really appreciate you sharing this experience in real time. I had no idea everything you had to go through.’”

For Robyn, opening her social media back up became part of the purpose.

“I want people to have access to the information I’m putting out there.”

 

What role does running play in this chapter?

Running has long been part of how Robyn challenges herself. She has run both the Chicago Marathon and the New York City Marathon. 

“I never wanted to do the Boston Marathon,” she says. “But then Boston Marathon Day, I was like, I want to do this.”

Now, Boston represents more than a race. It is connected to Runway, recovery, fundraising, and the community she is beginning to find.

“Having the fundraising, it’s just something else to focus energy on,” she says.

 

What else is happening during this season of your life?

In the middle of an already overwhelming few weeks, Robyn received another unexpected call.

After a long day at Emory that included radiation oncology and gynecology appointments, she got a call from the dean of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Robyn, who went to school at UC Davis, learned she would be receiving an Alumni Achievement Award.

“I found these things both out on days that were kind of hard for me,” she says. “So it’s been this really cool thing.”

That award ceremony will take her to California in October. From there, she will fly straight to Boston for Runway.

“What a week,” she says.

For Robyn, the timing feels almost symbolic: two powerful milestones, both arriving in the same season as her diagnosis.

 

How are you feeling about stepping onto the Runway stage?

Robyn admits the idea of modeling is outside her comfort zone.

“I can’t guarantee I won’t trip on the runway,” she jokes.

But she is excited to be surrounded by people who understand different pieces of what breast cancer can look like: people newly diagnosed, people in treatment, people who are cancer-free, people living with metastatic disease, and people walking in honor of someone they love.

For Robyn, who is still early in her own journey, the stage is not just a celebration. It is a marker. A goal. A place to arrive after months of uncertainty, appointments, decisions, and healing.

Her story is one of early detection, education, self-advocacy, and finding purpose in the middle of the unknown. And as she continues to share her experience in real time, Robyn is already helping others do the one thing that changed everything for her:

Get the mammogram. Ask the questions. Keep going.