Brittanny, United States

Stage 3A Melanoma. The deadliest form of skin cancer. Diagnosed at 27. That’s me. A girl from across the cemetery in a tiny town in Pennsylvania, graduating with barely 30 other kids, suddenly thrown into a world I never imagined. I felt completely alone.

That cemetery has always been apart of me. But it wasn’t until I got diagnosed with cancer that I could picture myself in it. All of a sudden there was a clear line drawn between my side of the road and the graves on the other side. Life verses death.

I had a taste of it when we buried my dad in 2005. But I never saw myself being lowered into that same ground until I was told “you have cancer”. Then, it was flashbacks. History repeating itself with my father.

Cancer flipped my entire life upside down. In that moment.

And yet here I am (year 5 of my survival story) still here, still recurrence‑free, still living to tell it. I call that a miracle every single day.

I owe that miracle to so many people: the oncologists & dermatologists who guided me, the nurses who cared for me, the friends & family who held me up, the nonprofits & researchers who refuse to give up, the people who donate to cancer fundraisers without ever knowing who they’re helping. Every single person who believes cancer is worth fighting made it possible for treatments like Keytruda to exist—the drug I rely on to stay alive today.

I think often about timing. If I had been diagnosed just 2 years earlier, immunotherapy wouldn’t have been an option for me. Cancer turned my world to chaos. But I’m strangely grateful that it happened when it did, in the exact moment when the stars aligned & treatment existed that could save my life.

I don’t know what the future holds. But I’m thankful for every dollar, every idea, every bit of effort that goes into understanding cancer & the people who live with it. World Cancer Day reminds me of that. It sparks something in all of us.

We are unified. United by unique stories. And we share them because gratitude is powerful every second we’re given is worth honoring.