Survivors

This year, Betsy is celebrating more than 25 years of survivorship after breast cancer.

She is also honoring her mother, Sally Hetzler, who passed away from breast cancer just eight days before Frannie was born.

When Betsy was diagnosed, her children were 5 and 10 years old. Today, they are 31 and 36, and Betsy is a proud grandmother to a beautiful one-year-old grandson.

Debbie First was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1977 and had 13 months of a groundbreaking treatment. With three children under 12 and the support of her husband, Debbie managed a full time position as Executive Director of Action for Children’s Television. Nearly five decades later, she is cancer free and walks the Runway stage for the third time with a unique perspective on how far cancer awareness, research, treatment and support have come—giving us hope for a future with more cures and more people living with the disease.

As a single mother diagnosed with breast cancer, Jennie’s first fear was not for herself. It was for her kids. But through treatment, Jennie found strength, faith, and a renewed commitment to her own happiness.

“I always get back up, no matter what,” she says.

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.