T.J.

T.J. is recently retired and single. She has a son, a daughter, 8 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. She loves spending time with family, travel, and gardening.

While caring for her mother with end-stage heart disease, she accidentally found a lump in her breast during a quick shower. She believes the stress of being a caregiver caused her to overlook her own care.

She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and had a mastectomy with lymph node removal. Three days later, additional lymph nodes were removed. At that time, she had breast reconstruction at another hospital, saying, “After 40 years of being single, I prayed to look normal again.”

A revision of her original reconstruction was planned with Dr. Lewis Diulus, but a recurrence of cancer was found during surgery. She was both over the moon and crushed at the same time—grateful that the cancer had been found, but worried to face it all over again.

With breast cancer now behind her a second time, she’s currently awaiting further reconstruction later this year.

Walking the Pink Runway feels like a major milestone, and she is honored to be asked.

T.J. also offers this advice to other women facing breast cancer, “Take one day at a time and trust the process you are in. One day, you will look back and it’s going to hit you just how far you’ve come. Tears will come too. Take a deep breath and smile!”