Meet the Models: Diane and Anastasia Hansen

Last year Diane and Anastasia lit up the runway. As a mother/daughter duo, the two represented what began at the core of Runway for Recovery- mothers and daughters. They will hit the runway again this year to honor all their family has gone through during Diane’s breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Diane was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2007. The diagnosis came as a shock, but the treatment proved grueling. She found it hard to even gather enough energy to get out of bed. However, as a mother, she knew she had to remain present for her family. Her children, Anastasia and Daniel, were only 11 and 9 at the time of diagnosis. Her mission became clear: “I had to just get healthy.” Diane’s treatment included a mastectomy in 2008 and the myriad of symptoms and after effects of treatment still persist, but Diane is focused on being grateful and positive about being in remission: “I don’t like to think negatively- I think of it as a book and that chapter is closed.”

She is quick to acknowledge the hardships of that chapter of her life saying, “When you have cancer, you listen to all the doctors and nurses and know what you’re supposed to do, but in a way, you lose control of your life.” It’s why it remains especially important that herself and Anastasia dance the runway again this year to honor the breast cancer battle her family went through and continue to reframe the narrative as a positive moving forward.