Mariah’s Story

At 33 years old, Mariah Powell never imagined a routine self-check in the shower would change the course of her life.

She felt a lump on the left side of her chest and mentioned it casually to her mom. Her mom encouraged her to have it checked, and what followed was a whirlwind—mammograms, ultrasounds, a biopsy, and then the call on February 29, 2024 confirming it was breast cancer.

“Everything happens so fast. You’re thrown into MRIs, CAT scans, appointments. It’s just a whirlwind.”

Within weeks, Mariah had a port placed and began chemotherapy. She completed four rounds of the ‘Red Devil’ chemotherapy followed by 12 rounds of Taxol, then underwent a double mastectomy and 25 rounds of radiation. Like many survivors, the physical challenges were intense—but the emotional ones were just as real.

Losing her hair during treatment was one of the moments that made everything feel undeniable.

“They tell you it’s going to happen, but you’re never really prepared until it’s happening and you see your hair coming out.”

After treatment, Mariah was declared cancer-free, but survivorship came with its own journey—learning what her “new normal” would look like.

The most powerful part of that process, she says, has been community.

On her very first day of chemotherapy, she met another patient who would become one of her closest friends. That connection introduced her to a broader network of survivors, including the community she now calls her “breasties.”

“You can have this big support system around you and still feel so alone. Then you meet people who just get it—you don’t have to explain anything.”

Meeting other young survivors reshaped her perspective even more. At a survivorship camp, she remembers speaking with a woman celebrating her 19th birthday.

“I was in my 30s thinking my life was over. And here was someone so young going through the same thing. It really changes how you see everything.”

That sense of connection ignited a passion in Mariah to give back. She has since become deeply involved in advocacy and fundraising efforts within the breast cancer community and was even training to run the New York City Half Marathon in support of the cause.

Although recent surgeries prevented her from running this year, she says it’s only a temporary pause.

“I’ll be back.”

Mariah will take the Runway stage this year alongside fellow survivor Avamarie, celebrating strength, survivorship, and the community that helped carry her through.

“This is another way for me to honor my body and everything it’s gotten me through—and to give back to a community that means so much to me.”