Parents with Breast Cancer
Meet the Models: Meredith Parkinson
Meredith Parkinson is an ironman triathlete. In other words, she is a total bad*** who is extremely in tune with her body and it’s limits. It’s why, when one of her children accidently kicked her in the breast, the pain she felt made her uneasy. It was worse than normal and after some self checks, she felt a bump in her armpit.
Read MoreMeet the Models: Rebecca Kitchen
Rebecca Kitchen was on her way to urgent care when she decided to stop home for a quick shower. While showering she noticed a lump in her breast. Not thinking much of it, she brought it up to the urgent care doctor just in case. He too believed it to be a cyst, or something minor given Rebecca’s young age of 30. To be safe he sent her for a mammogram and ultrasound, both of which came back inconclusive. Three biopsies later, Rebecca was diagnosed with stage three ductal carcinoma breast cancer. It came as a complete shock: “it was so far outside the realm of possibilities for me. I would never have even thought it was possible.” Indeed, Rebecca had no family history and later genetic testing would reveal she also had no precursors.
Read MoreMeet the Models: Cassandra (Cassy) Villalta
Cassy Villalta beams with positivity. One would never know the journey she has been on in the past decade. At just 35, with a 3 and 5 year old at home, Cassy was diagnosed with grade 3 ductal carcinoma. She would go on to have a lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and immunotherapy. It was grueling schedule, but Cassy remained upbeat throughout: “as long as it was fixable, I kept a smile on my face.” Her main priority was her children and ensuring their lives were uninterrupted by her diagnosis. She remains steadfast in her motivation to have her children’s memories of growing up not be tainted with images of her sick.
Read MoreMeet the Models: Joelle Lieman
For years Joelle Lieman diagnosed women with lumps and bumps. As an OBGYN, she was familiar with the difficulty of handing out scary news. She never anticipated it would happen to her, but at 39 years old she found a lump in her breast. Her husband encouraged her to use her diagnosing experience to keep a cool head: “he said, ‘what would you tell your patients?’ to which I responded, ‘there is a low chance that at 39 it’s cancer.’”
Read MoreMeet the Models: LaWanda Woumnm
Lawanda’s electric energy is impossible to miss. Sit with her for sixty seconds and you feel enveloped in her warmth. It’s a feeling she is hoping to spread: “Although I continue to fight the fight, while on this journey, I want to inspire, I want to encourage, I want to motivate. Breast Cancer is what happened to me. It is not my identity. I remind myself every day I am on this journey- I am who God says I am. I am approved, I am accepted, I am valuable, I am a masterpiece AND I am a child of the Most High God!”
Read MoreMeet the Models: Jillian Miller
“the world portrays breast cancer as THE cancer to get. Get a t-shirt, a ribbon and you’re good to go. So I was like alright, lets go, let’s do this thing.”
Read MoreMeet the Models: Christine Leach
Last September, Christine Leach lost her husband after his 22 month battle with glioblastoma. It was a tragedy that thrust her, and her two children, into unimaginable grief. She was due for her mammogram in December 2021
Read MoreMeet the Models: Kasha Wasylak
Kasha Wasylak was just 26 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She found a lump while showering, but never thought it could be cancer. She reported it to her OBGYN and they both assumed it was a clogged milk duct, as she had completed breast feeding months prior. After several rounds of testing, Kasha got a voicemail that would change her entire life. It was the doctor informing her that she had cancer and to call back immediately.
Read MoreMeet the Models: Alexis Klimchenko
. Her self advocation would turn out to be live saving- testing confirmed Alexis had invasive ductal carcinoma. Days later she would find out that spots on her liver meant she was stage four.
Read MoreMeet the Models: Jodi Gauron
It’s a story heard often in the Runway community: an accidental moment of noticing a lump that turns out to be cancerous. In July of 2019, Jodi Garoun experienced just that, and at the age of 42, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Read More