Emily Waldon
You never think it’s going to be you.
You hear the stories, your heart is moved by the battles you watch going on around you, but you never imagine it would reach you.
In January of 2022, it reached me. I was diagnosed with early-stage ductal breast cancer. At the time, I didn’t realize how much resilience and faith I would need for what was coming. I only knew that I wasn’t going to be able to do it with my own strength.
What followed was one of the hardest battles I had ever faced. This came by way of four surgeries, including a double mastectomy, six rounds of chemotherapy, and 25 rounds of radiation. Survival meant showing up day after day even when exhaustion tried to convince me otherwise.
Some days, I felt strong and fearless. On other days, survival simply meant getting out of bed in the morning. I learned that courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is continuing to move forward despite it.
Cancer changed my body, but it also changed my perspective on life.
After being declared cancer-free, it felt like I could finally breathe again. For three years, I didn’t have to think about blood work or side effects.
In December of 2025, an irritation in my left armpit told me something was wrong. I reached out to my oncologist and requested an exam. I was not initially offered a scan, after being told my exterior exam “Appeared fine.”
If there’s one thing we learn from walking through any major health condition, it’s to trust your instinct and advocate for what you believe you need. I was given approval for a CT scan, which displayed several areas of concern.
A biopsy soon followed and confirmed exactly what I was hoping I’d never hear. Stage four metastatic breast cancer.
Hearing those words was devastating. This time, the journey looked different. There was no finish line waiting at the end of treatment. Instead, I learned that I would remain in active treatment for the rest of my life. It would have been easy to let hopelessness take over but looking to my faith in the power of Jesus, I made up my mind that I would share my story once again.
Today, I continue to fight—not just for myself, but for every person walking through impossible circumstances. I fight with hope for the future, and with determination to keep living fully in the middle of uncertainty. Cancer may be part of my story, but it does not define the entirety of who I am.
My journey has shown me the incredible strength of the human spirit, but more importantly, the incredible grace and strength of Jesus that come when you step back and allow him to take control. I have discovered resilience I never knew I had. And while I would never have chosen this path, it has taught me the value of hope, and perseverance.
It’s just a chapter, not my whole story.
