Patricia’s Story

Patricia San Pedro describes her breast cancer journey in a way that stops people in their tracks.

“I can’t imagine what my life today would be like if I had not had breast cancer… and that sounds bizarre.”

Diagnosed in 2008 with stage one, grade three invasive ductal carcinoma, HER2-positive, Patricia’s first thought was her mother. Daisy had passed away from breast cancer at just 59 years old, and that memory immediately filled the space when Patricia heard the words.

“That was the picture in my mind. That was the film that played when I heard my diagnosis.”

But very quickly, Patricia made a decision—this would not be her story.

“It was like… that was not my path.”

What followed was not just treatment, but transformation. Patricia underwent a double mastectomy and a full year of chemotherapy—what she calls her “sacred juice.”

“I was in the middle of 17 sessions of chemo, and I chose to call it sacred juice because it was healing me.”

From the very beginning, she felt a pull to document what she was going through. As a television producer, she picked up a camera the day she was diagnosed.

“I told my girlfriends, ‘I have cancer—and we’re going to videotape the whole thing.’ They were like, ‘Wait… what?’ But I knew. I knew this was going to help someone.”

That footage became a Discovery Channel documentary. It later became her book, The Cancer Dancer: Healing One Step at a Time. And it became the foundation for something even bigger—a global community.

“I just got this message that I was going to use my journey to help others.”

Today, Patricia leads Positively Pat and the Link of Hope Sistas, a global support network of hundreds of women navigating all types of cancer.

For Patricia, cancer didn’t just change her life—it redirected it.

“It took my path and put me on this dance that has brought so many unexpected blessings.”

One of those “blessings” came in a moment during treatment that would later shape her creative work. Walking through a neighborhood mid-chemotherapy, she noticed a door—something she had always loved to photograph.

“But suddenly, doors meant something different.”

In that moment, she realized she had a choice.

“I could look at the door as the end… or I could see it as a portal. And if I walked through it with strength and faith, what I would find on the other side would be an unexpected blessing.”

That perspective became her Discover Your Doorway exhibit—an interactive art experience where viewers physically open doors to reveal something new behind them.

“That’s what this journey has been. You open a door, and you don’t know what’s on the other side—but there is something there.”

Through it all, Patricia was never alone. While her mother had already passed, and she didn’t have a spouse or children, she was carried by a powerful circle of women.

“My girlfriends… they were my angels. They carried me on their wings to healing.”

They created a calendar so that someone was with her for every chemo session, every doctor’s appointment, every moment.

“I don’t know how I would have done it without them.”

That experience shaped how she shows up for others today.

“If you don’t have that kind of support, find it. Find your people. Find a group of women who have been there. It makes all the difference.”

Patricia is also clear about what not to say to someone diagnosed.

“Don’t ever say, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, my aunt died from breast cancer.’ Please don’t do that.”

Instead, she encourages people to show up with love, presence, and understanding.

Now, years later, cancer is still part of her life—but on her terms.

“It doesn’t have to define you… but for me, I choose to let it be part of my purpose.”

She continues to mentor women, lead her global community, and share her story every day.

“It’s my way of paying it forward for being here. For being healthy.”

And through it all, she holds onto the mindset that has guided her from the beginning.

“You can go into that dark space… but don’t buy land there.”

Patricia isn’t just surviving. She’s dancing—through every doorway, every chapter, and every unexpected blessing that came from the one she never saw coming.