Veronica Davis’s Story

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

For Veronica Davis, breast cancer began with something she never expected to hear at a routine appointment.

She had gone to her OB-GYN visit like any other yearly checkup. She still remembers driving there, thinking about how the office had moved from Needham to Dedham and wondering whether she should switch doctors because the drive was longer.

Then, during the appointment, her doctor felt a lump.

“I had not felt this lump at all previously,” Veronica says.

Even then, cancer did not come to mind.

“I was like, oh, maybe it’s some kind of cyst or whatever,” she remembers.

But after a biopsy, Veronica learned it was breast cancer.

She was not yet 40.

 

What did the diagnosis feel like?

At first, Veronica felt a disconnect between the diagnosis and her own life.

“I knew about it,” she says. “But never really personally relatable.”

To Veronica, breast cancer meant awareness walks around the Charles River. It was something distant, not personal.

Yet, suddenly, it was happening inside her own body.

“It felt so surreal,” she says.

Veronica called her friend Courtney, who would later be the person to encourage her to apply to Runway. Courtney became one of the people who helped support her through the earliest days.

 

Why was early detection so important?

Veronica had not felt the lump herself, but her doctor did.

That moment mattered.

As further testing unfolded, doctors discovered not only the lump, but another area of cancer that Veronica remembers as being more invasive and potentially more dangerous.

Even though the diagnosis was frightening, thorough care was something that helped save her.

“I think even though it’s a very unfortunate event, it was also very fortunate for me that there was early detection,” she says. “And that it was treatable.”

That is part of what Veronica carries with her now: gratitude for the care that found the cancer and the treatment that gave her a path forward.

In the end, driving a little farther for that appointment became the cost of receiving the care that changed everything.

 

What was happening in your life at the time?

Veronica was diagnosed during COVID, with young children at home. Like so many families, they were already navigating masks, school changes, uncertainty, and the stress of the pandemic.

Then breast cancer was added to the list.

It was overwhelming. But Veronica remembers that, again and again, solutions appeared. Doctors, friends, family, and community members stepped in.

“There has always been solutions,” she says. “God throws you a challenge, but then we somehow figure it out collectively.”

What did support look like for you?

For Veronica, support came from everywhere.

Her friends and community showed up in ways both big and small. People brought meals. Friends drove her to appointments at MGH. Mothers’ groups and women’s groups helped organize care. People she barely knew found ways to support her.

“I was just deeply touched by what an amazing community I was in,” she says.

Because Veronica found driving into Boston stressful, especially while anxious and overwhelmed, friends created what she calls “car trains” to bring her back and forth to treatment. Those rides became more than transportation.

“In cars, we obviously talked about a lot of different things,” she says.

They talked about children, cancer, family stories, and the many ways breast cancer had touched people’s lives.

Those conversations became part of Veronica’s own story.

“All those different stories became the very fabric of my story,” she says.

How did community shape your experience?

Veronica believes the fact that she is here is not only her own triumph. It belongs to everyone who helped carry her through.

She is grateful for the team at MGH, where she received treatment, and for the social workers who helped her navigate the combined weight of cancer, COVID, young children, and fear.

She is grateful for the friends who drove her, the people who cooked for her, and the community that surrounded her during the hardest year.

“It’s really like, in many ways, a triumph of everyone,” she says. “The fact that I’m here and I can celebrate it.”

That support changed how Veronica sees community. One ride, one meal, one conversation may feel small to the person offering it, but together, those gestures became a network strong enough to hold her.

 

What has breast cancer been like after the first year?

Veronica feels that many people prepared her for how intense the first year would be. But what surprised her was how long the effects continued.

Five years later, she is still dealing with the impacts of breast cancer and treatment.

“I think some other patients would also relate that it’s really like a chronic disease,” she says.

She has had mobility issues with her arms after surgery and radiation. Her bone density dropped significantly because of medication, leading to infusions. Other parts of her health, including dental care, have also been affected.

“You almost feel like it’s robbing Peter to save Paul,” she says.

That has been one of the hardest parts: understanding that breast cancer does not simply end when the first year of treatment is over.

“This has been dragging on,” Veronica says. “Now this is my fifth year, and I’m still dealing with it.”

What has breast cancer taught your family?

Veronica does not minimize the challenge of breast cancer. She would never choose it, and she wishes she had never had it.

But she also sees ways it changed her family.

“In some ways, it helped us be stronger and closer,” Veronica says. “Even my kids became more empathetic.”

For Veronica, that is one of the complicated truths of the experience: cancer was terrible, but love, support, and growth still came from it.

 

How are you feeling about joining Runway?

Veronica first found Runway through her friend Courtney Fawcett, who encouraged her to apply as she reached her five-year milestone.

“She said, ‘Well, you know, it’s your fifth year, and their 20th. I think you should apply,’” Veronica remembers.

Now, Veronica is preparing to step onto the Runway stage as part of the 20th Anniversary Boston Show.

For her, the experience is a celebration of what she has overcome and the community that helped her get here.

“What an empowering program,” she says. “To celebrate, to get together, to have a community, to embrace the challenge, and to celebrate what we have overcome.”

On the Runway stage, we look forward to celebrating Veronica’s five-year milestone, her gratitude for early detection, and the community that became the fabric of her story.