Meet the Models, New England: Kelly Willwerth
Kelly Willwerth has a major milestone around the corner. Approaching 9 years since her cancer diagnosis, she will no longer be on any maintenance medications come the fall. It’s why even though 10 years is a more typical milestone, she is hitting the runway in October to celebrate how far she has come.
Back in 2015, at 44 years old, Kelly was coming off a clear mammogram and breast exam when she woke up one morning to a massive weight in her breast. It would turn out to be stage 3 lobular breast cancer, which is particularly difficult to find because of its resistance to showing up on scans. With a 9 and 12 year old home, Kelly said, “I could feel sorry for myself if it was just me, but I had two children. I needed them to know I was going to be ok.” The treatment obviously took a toll, but she had a tribe who helped drive her children and distract them during her treatments. As a person who already appreciated the little things, the diagnosis annoyed Kelly, but she does note it hammered home how short life really is.
Kelly is honest about how long it can take to “come down” from the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Today she laughs saying, “so many people complain today about menopause, but I went through that during chemo, which didn’t give me much time to even think about it. I have people diagnosed when I was that have now passed, so for me, so what if I look like I have been through war under my clothes? I am still here.”
9 years out, Kelly finds herself focusing more on what is important: “I’m ok. I think about it, but I don’t obsess about it like I used to and it took me a long time to get there. Of course, when something is wrong, I immediately worry it’s cancer.” Her children, now beginning and out of college are her new focus in terms of genetic testing and early mammograms. She hopes advancements will allow them to avoid what she had to go through. For now, she plans to acknowledge and celebrate what she has survived by dancing down the runway: “I have met so many wonderful women through Runway and the day is so positive. I am really excited for that.”