December 11, 2024

Cynthia Cushia

“My journey is what I like to call 'My Gift Wrapped in Barbed Wire”, shares Cynthia. In 2017, Cynthia Cushia, a 37-year old with unwavering tenacity for life, received an unsettling diagnosis: Stage 2, Grade 3 HER2+ breast cancer.

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“My journey is what I like to call ‘My Gift Wrapped in Barbed Wire”, shares Cynthia. In 2017, Cynthia Cushia, a 37-year old with unwavering tenacity for life, received an unsettling diagnosis: Stage 2, Grade 3 HER2+ breast cancer.

This news came as a shock – having no risk factors or family history. When Cynthia received her diagnosis, it was not an easy journey and difficult for her to find support – much of her support system remaining speechless.

Cynthia’s journey began when her partner noticed a lump in her left breast and encouraged her to get it checked out. After this diagnosis, her overwhelming journey began. Initially, Cynthia was advised to undergo two years of chemotherapy and IV treatments. After careful consideration, she decided to have a mastectomy and lymph node removal done instead.

After her surgery, she received amazing news that her lymph nodes were cancer-free! Given the stage and grade of her cancer, she continued her journey and proceeded with Tamoxifen.

It was a learning journey, that is for sure. However, it was a gift that made Cynthia realize how precious life is. After battling breast cancer, she started to look at life from a whole different perspective. She understood what she had gone through in her life, and is now reinventing herself.

Breast Cancer Canada invests donations into precision oncology research; to match the right plan, to the right person, at the right time. Cynthia shares that her breast cancer made her appreciate life a lot more. “It is beautiful to have this second chance. I feel like a butterfly, and I can’t wait to spread my wings”.

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Tia Moore

In March 2023, Tia Moore, a vibrant 38-year-old with an unyielding zest for life, faced an all-too-familiar reality: a breast cancer diagnosis. Having watched her mother grapple with breast cancer at 44, Tia was keenly aware of her own heightened risk.

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