Meet the Models: Renee Plodzik 2025
Model Spotlight: Renee Plodzik
Runway Show: New England | Diagnosed: Stage 0 at 34, Metastatic at 42
Renee Plodzik is a woman who redefines strength—not because she’s never broken, but because she’s chosen to rise again and again, even when the odds changed.
She was just 34 when she received her first breast cancer diagnosis—Stage 0, with two young children at home. After a successful mastectomy and no need for further treatment, she poured her gratitude into advocacy and wellness. “There’s so much talk about early detection,” Renee said, “but so little about support after a diagnosis.” She responded by creating Fit for a Cause, a donation-based fitness and wellness program that funds local cancer survivors while also building community around health, movement, and mindfulness.
She went on to have her third child and spent nearly a decade thriving in survivorship.
A New World: Living with Metastatic Disease
But on her 42nd birthday, life shifted again. Hip pain she had attributed to overuse from her active lifestyle turned out to be metastatic lesions across her hip and pelvis. “I had a feeling when I left the scan,” she recalled. “An hour later, I got the call.”
That moment shattered the life she had rebuilt. “The entire first year was just really hard,” Renee shared. “Trying to keep up my old life while carrying the weight of a new diagnosis… I cried every single day.”
Yet even in the midst of fear and grief, Renee began to shift. Her community showed up with love and meals. She found strength in movement again. And she began connecting with the metastatic breast cancer community—a shift that helped her focus on living rather than preparing for dying.
Grace in the Present
In her speech at Love for Runway, Renee shared how she has learned to live in three-month cycles: “I plan around the next scan. When I get good results, I get to plan the next few months of life. I know one day the scans may not be as good—but today is beautiful, and I’m okay today.”
She also offered a powerful distinction: “Maybe I’m not strong enough to live through metastatic breast cancer. But I am strong enough to live with it.”
That mindset has reframed her life—from how she parents her children to how she connects with her community. She’s been honest with her kids, modeling that grief, tears, and love can exist all at once. She hopes that what they’re witnessing is resilience—not perfection.
Rewriting the Narrative
Renee's relationship with Runway for Recovery began in 2022, when she attended her first show. She remembers the feeling clearly: “It helped me understand that even with a Stage 4 diagnosis, there is hope. That no matter what happens, we will be okay.”
She also reflected on what she needed from others—and what was unhelpful. “All that anxiety and worry takes up so much space. Please don’t offer miracle cures or tell us to stay positive at all costs. Just meet us where we are. Cry with us. Laugh with us. Sit beside us.”
Showing Up, Fully
Today, Renee’s care includes ongoing treatment, palliative support, regular exercise, a thoughtful diet, and therapy. But more than anything, it includes presence. Living in the moment with her family. Letting others help. Giving herself grace to have hard days, and allowing joy in on the good ones.
She walks the Runway this year for herself, for her children, and for anyone navigating the layered reality of metastatic breast cancer. “I used to think wellness was about controlling every aspect of my health. Now I see it’s about showing up, fully, with the truth. That’s where the real healing happens.”
