Posts by Josie Silk
My Doan’s Story
My Doan joined the Runway community in 2010.
Since then, she has watched it grow into something far bigger than she could have imagined.
For My, Runway has always felt like more than an event. It is a family, a reunion, and a place where she can celebrate her own survivorship while honoring her sister Lynne, who is living with metastatic breast cancer.
“I’m just so proud to be a part of the organization,” she says.
Read MoreNicole Niccoli’s Story
Breast Cancer has taken so much from Nicole’s family, but she is now choosing to move forward with purpose: living more fully, gathering knowledge for her daughters, and holding onto the hope that research today could help protect them tomorrow.
“Before, I wasn’t living,” she shared. “But now I am trying to truly live every day.”
Read MoreJenny Clayton’s Story
After Jenny’s mother, Jean, passed away from breast cancer, Jenny and her sisters created a tradition to face their own family history together.
They called it Boobs and Baubles.
Each year, the sisters go for their mammograms together, supporting one another through the appointments before choosing a piece of jewelry to commemorate another year. What began as a way to make something frightening feel more celebratory has become one of the most meaningful traditions they share.
Read MoreLaura Gradel’s Story
Laura has been through breast cancer treatment, pregnancy loss, questions about fertility, chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and eventually, two pregnancies after treatment.
For years, Laura was not always sure how much of that story she wanted to share.
Now, five years later, she is ready to tell the fuller version.
“I want to be able to just talk about it,” she says. “And not be protecting people from feeling sad or feeling overwhelmed.”
Read MoreAthena Shearrion-Perkins’s Story
Athena is part of Runway for Recovery’s Family Grants Program, which provides direct support to families navigating the impact of breast cancer.
After losing her mother in March 2020, Athena received a Family Grant that covered tutoring, giving her the academic support and stability she needed during an unimaginable time.
Today, the transformation is remarkable.
“To see her now is unbelievable,” her father says. “Having someone believe in you and seeing that confidence build in her is unbelievable.”
Read MoreVeronica Davis’s Story
Diagnosed during COVID, with one child in preschool and another in elementary school, Veronica moved through treatment with the help of doctors, friends, mothers’ groups, social workers, and a community that showed up with meals, rides, advice, and care.
“In many ways, it’s a triumph of everyone,” she says. “The fact that I’m here and I can celebrate it.”
Read MoreAlison Flanagan’s Story
“I really never have been public about my breast cancer.”
After years of carrying her story quietly, Alison realized Runway might be what she needed to finally process, connect, and feel less alone.
“Maybe this is what I need,” she says. “Not a new job, not more surgeries, not all these other things. Maybe I need to find a community and connect that way.”
Read MoreAkhiel Willis and Kacey Morin’s Story
Akhiel and Kacey are walking in memory of Cheryl, Akhiel’s mother.
Cheryl’s breast cancer diagnosis came after months of pain that did not feel normal. She had trouble walking, climbing stairs, and moving through daily life, yet Akhiel remembers feeling like answers came too slowly and the plan never felt clear enough.
“It felt like they weren’t taking her seriously, or as seriously,” Kacey says.
Cheryl’s story is a celebration of a fiery woman with fierce style, deep love for family, and unwavering faith in her son. But it is also a reminder of the unequal treatment too many patients face, especially Black women whose symptoms are too often dismissed or not taken seriously enough.
This October, Akhiel and Kacey walk to honor Cheryl’s life and to raise awareness about listening sooner, asking harder questions, and making sure every patient receives the care and urgency they deserve.
Read MoreCrystal Davis’s Story
Crystal Davis has spent her life caring for others.
This year, Crystal returns to Runway as a survivor, advocate, board member, and recipient of the 2026 Ilene Beal Legacy of Leadership Award — continuing to dance, lead, and light up the stage for a community she believes in.
Now 18 years cancer free, Crystal’s story is one of survival, service, and celebration — a reminder that leadership can come from lived experience, and that support can change everything.
Read MoreLauren Bonato’s Story
Lauren Bonato was diagnosed with breast cancer at 36, with two young children at home and a life she was determined not to miss.
At first, the fear was overwhelming. Eventually, instead of focusing only on everything that could go wrong, she began asking herself a different question: “What’s the best that could happen?”
That mindset helped carry her through chemo, surgery, and now radiation. It helped her keep showing up for Christmas, school events, birthdays, her daughter’s recital, and the everyday moments of motherhood that mattered most.
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