Blog Posts
Kerrianne Eldora’s Story
Kerrianne Eldora’s breast cancer diagnosis came during an already devastating season for her family.
Six weeks before Kerrianne was diagnosed, her sister received the same news. Their mother had also been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40 and had gone through it twice.
Through it all, Kerrianne held tightly to hope.
“You have to know that things are going to work out,” she says. “You have to be as positive as you can, even when you feel like that rain cloud is overhead.”
Read MoreLaurie Turney’s Story
Laurie Turney has been shaped by breast cancer for nearly 30 years.
Her second diagnosis, this time stage IV metastatic breast cancer, was very serious.
Laurie was told she had three to five years.
Today, she is 63 and a half, feeling great, and celebrating 20 years cancer-free.
“I’m celebrating the last 20 years that we didn’t know we were going to have,” Laurie says.
Read MoreValerie David’s Story
Valerie David is known to many as The Pink Hulk.
A four-time cancer survivor over 27 years, Valerie has turned her story into a one-woman show about finding the superhero within. Earlier this year, after surgery for what doctors believed was a benign brain tumor, pathology revealed that metastatic breast cancer had been growing on the tumor.
For a while, Valerie says she lost The Pink Hulk.
But after her most recent scans came back clear, something shifted.
“The girl got her mojo back,” Valerie says.
Read MoreVictoria Price’s Story
Victoria Price was 29 years old when she felt something unusual in her breast.
“My body is telling me that something’s not right,” she remembers thinking.
After weeks of appointments, scans, biopsies, and uncertainty, genetic testing later revealed that she carries the BRCA2 mutation.
“I’m grateful that I listened to my body and that I know my body,” Victoria says.
Now, Victoria uses her voice to help others feel seen, especially young Black women who may not see themselves reflected in breast cancer spaces.
Read MoreKristen Isola’s Story
After eight rounds of chemotherapy, two surgeries, and 30 rounds of radiation, Kristen is nearly one year out from finishing treatment. Now, she is stepping onto the Runway stage to show her sons something beyond the hard parts.
“This is a moment in our story,” Kristen says. “It isn’t who your mom is.”
Read MoreCassy Villalta’s Story
Cassy Villalta has spent years living with uncertainty.
After doctors found a spot on her ribs in 2022, Cassy did not know whether the cancer had spread to her bones. Because the spot could not be biopsied, she moved through each treatment and appointment without the clear answer she wanted.
Still, Cassy kept going.
“I never looked at it as a diagnosis and a death sentence,” she says. “It was kind of just like, oh, this is what I have, and we’re going to do X, Y, and Z to get through it.”
Now, after three clear CT scans, Cassy is preparing to finish monthly treatment and move to six-month check-ins.
Read MoreMaggie Corcoran Seitz’s Story
Breast cancer has shaped Maggie’s life through love, loss, and family.
Her mother passed away from breast cancer when Maggie was a young adult. At the time, there were very few people in her life who understood what it meant to lose a mother so young.
Olivia was one of them.
That shared understanding became part of what connected Maggie to Runway for Recovery.
Read MoreMariah Powell’s Story
Mariah Powell is bringing her story, her purpose, and her joy to Boston.
Since becoming part of the Runway community, Mariah has continued to grow into the kind of advocate she once hoped to see: a visible, honest, inspiring face for other Black women navigating breast cancer.
Now, as she prepares to come to Boston and step into a new role as a model mentor, Mariah is also building something of her own in Virginia Beach: a 5K fundraiser on the oceanfront to benefit Runway for Recovery.
Read MoreJenn Monkiewicz’s Story
Jenn Monkiewicz is returning to Runway’s 20th Anniversary Show because, for her, Runway has become much more than an event.
“It’s a community that truly understands this journey,” she says.
She knows survivorship is not just about getting through something. It is about finding your way forward and creating a meaningful life.
“I’m especially grateful to step onto the Runway again,” Jenn says, “not because of what happened to me, but because of where I am today and the life I continue to choose to live.”
Read MoreAnn Reis’s Story
Today, 17 years after being diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer, Anne Reis is in total remission and no longer taking medication.
Anne returns for Runway’s 20th Anniversary Show with deep gratitude, joy, and purpose: walking for herself, her children, her grandchildren, and especially her late twin sister, Molly.
For Anne, this year is a celebration of life, survivorship, family, and the sister whose spirit is always with her.
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