I remember the day vividly: as a time of solidarity with a group of friends, colleagues and survivors. It was a great day, the streets filled with incredible energy and glorious pink accessories, sunglasses, feather boas and countless women, and a few brave men, all joined in a moment of support. I proudly wore that first T-shirt not knowing that 15 years later, I would be more than a supporter—I would also be a survivor of breast cancer.

There was a total of three oncologists from different areas of care that I would meet along the way. Then there is my plastic surgeon! The beginnings of a joke. Three oncologists and a plastic surgeon go into a bar... If you have a good joke for this scenario, I would love to hear it. But this is the thought that keeps popping into my head every time I am told about my surgical team.

As my towel brushed past the bottom of my right breast, I couldn’t help noticing that something didn’t feel right. Broken glass? It felt like broken glass. Is that possible? Could I have broken my boob? Can you break a boob? My mind began to swirl toward real questions then to ones that were clearly insane and made no sense... and yet, I asked them out loud... to myself... in the mirror.

In 2017, Dawn received her own life-changing diagnosis: triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive form of breast cancer. When diagnosed with this type of breast cancer, the message of hope is often lost amidst the urgency of treating an aggressive form of cancer. Being told things like, “survival rate is low, recurrence is high”, “it’s harder to treat", "chemotherapy regimen is very aggressive”, “the side effects are quite harsh”, “typically, the cancer may return in the first 5 years following treatment” can leave a person feeling helpless.

Driven by a profound commitment to community service and making a meaningful impact, Chhavi is passionate about leveraging her skills and experience to support non-profit initiatives, especially those focused on breast cancer awareness and support. Her journey with hormone-positive stage II breast cancer in 2023 has profoundly shaped her heartfelt personal commitment to this cause.