Meet the Models, New England: Siobhan Donovan
Siobhan Donovan was 33, a mom to a 2 and 3 year old and pregnant with her third child when she went in for a routine ultrasound. Shockingly, she walked out with a breast cancer diagnosis. The diagnosis forced an inducement of labor to a happy and healthy baby boy, but just two weeks later, when cancer was found in her sternum and back, Siobhan was diagnosed with stage four, metastatic breast cancer.
The experience “spun my whole life around” and quickly Siobhan started treatment, which included six months of weekly chemo, totaling 27 rounds. It was brutal, but she counts herself lucky to have an incredible extended tribe- from parents, in-laws, coworkers, friends and more- all of whom stepped in to help with childcare, meals and psychological support. Her mother-in-law, a breast cancer survivor, proved a uniquely “incredible mentor.” Moreover, she also relied on Facebook groups, particularly to gather information or tips on new medications and treatments.
Connections with those who understand such an impactful diagnosis can be hard and she notes one must “dig and search for connections, even when it is vulnerable.” Indeed, Siobhan made a close friend by just approaching her in the Dana Farber waiting room because they both looked to be the youngest there. It’s those relationships that hold such weight, given that the rest of the world often forgets what living with this disease can be like months after the immediate rallying support fades: “a lot of people don’t understand metastatic breast cancer doesn’t really end.”
Her tribe helped her get to a point where she returned to work in January 2023 as a public school teacher. Though hard, it was refreshing to get back to some normalcy. One year later however, in January of 2024, Siobhan found out she had a progression, which prompted HER 2 treatment. Not derailed by the news, two weeks before starting the new treatment, Siobhan completed the Boston Marathon with her sister. It was a moment of celebration for how far she has come, how strong her body is and “achieving things I never thought possible when first diagnosed.” It also was a moment to make her children proud and she hopes to achieve the same on the runway: “My son has never known me with hair, so as strong as my body is, I would love an opportunity to feel really good about myself physically on the runway.”
The entire experience of breast cancer has given Siobhan new perspective. While the first year of diagnosis had her grasping for her old normalcy, she wants those newly diagnosed to know it gets better saying, “in the beginning you spend a lot of energy thinking about the worst case scenario and you just can’t do that to yourself. Something I want women to know is it gets better, it gets easier. You don’t get better, but you do find a new normal. You have to make peace with letting go of of your old normal, which may take a long time.”
For Siobhan, her new normal includes taking care of herself best she can and living each day fully. It’s a mentality she hopes more people adopt: “I have a lot to be grateful for, I really do. That’s a perspective that, unless faced with your own mortality, you don’t have and while I don’t wish cancer on anyone, I do hope to enlighten people on that perspective.” Living each day means creating as many experiences and memories for her children as possible: “There will come a day when I am not here anymore and its important to me that when my children look back at me in photos/videos, they associate me with things that make them proud and through that they know me.”