Valerie’s Story

Valerie David’s story is one of extraordinary resilience, purpose, and unwavering hope.

Valerie is a 27-year cancer survivor who has faced multiple diagnoses across her lifetime—from Stage III Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma to Stage II breast cancer, and now living with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer with bone metastases.

“Breast cancer has shaped who I am today by inspiring me to help others through the performing arts,” she shares.

For the past eight years, she has been living with metastatic disease, continuing to defy expectations and rewrite what survivorship can look like.

At the heart of Valerie’s journey is her powerful one-woman show, The Pink Hulk: One Woman’s Journey to Find the Superhero Within. This autobiographical comedic drama has been performed in more than 25 cities around the world and serves as both her creative outlet and her mission. Through storytelling, humor, and vulnerability, Valerie transforms her experience into something that uplifts others—offering audiences hope, strength, and a sense that they are not alone.

“My goal is to provide audiences with hope in the darkest times,” she says.

Her impact extends far beyond the stage. After performances, Valerie hosts talkbacks where patients, survivors, doctors, and caregivers share their own stories, creating a space for connection and healing. She also leads improv and creative writing workshops for cancer patients and survivors, using the arts as a tool for expression and empowerment. Her work has earned national and international recognition, including the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award: Resilience in Action, and has been featured across major media outlets.

What makes this year especially meaningful for Valerie is not just another milestone—it’s a testament to perseverance. When she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2018, she was told she might have only 3–5 years to live. Today, she is still here, still creating, still performing, and still inspiring. In fact, on the very day she learned of her metastatic diagnosis, she stepped onto the stage that night and performed.

“It was most important to me to keep going, keep fighting, keep performing, and not let cancer stop me—and it hasn’t.”

Valerie’s journey is a powerful reminder that even in the face of uncertainty, purpose can be found, voices can be amplified, and hope can endure. Through her art, her advocacy, and her story, she continues to show the world what it means to keep going—and to never give up hope.