Published Jun 4, 2025

Women Creating A Great Life After Breast Cancer: The Amazing SurvivorNet Event At The World’s Largest Cancer Conference

Creator: SurvivorNet Staff
Published: 2025-06-04T19:26:47-04:00

SurvivorNet Staff

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An Incredible Panel Of Breast Cancer Thrivers

As the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference brought together 50,000 people to discuss cancer research and progress last weekend, SurvivorNet hosted an meeting of incredible breast cancer survivors who spoke about the reality of facing the disease in its earlier stages— and moving on to live a full life after.
We touched on topics like what it’s like to undergo innovative treatments to prevent recurrence, the special moments and joys happening in their lives now, the complexities around relationships and body image during the cancer journey, and so much more.
A key takeaway from this extraordinary panel of survivors is to look for ways to find joy in the moment, even after you’ve been so much
Empowerment to make choices about all aspects of care, including whether to take medicines to ward off cancer coming back, is a huge topic for the community.

Last weekend, the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference brought together about 50,000 people in Chicago to discuss cancer research, progress, and hope. In that spirit, SurvivorNet hosted a group of extraordinary breast cancer survivors to talk about what it’s like to benefit from that incredible progress, living a full life as a survivor, and gaining the confidence to make decisions about keeping cancer from coming back.

These incredible women are finding a way to move through treatment, create joys, find love again, and define their own future.

A key takeaway from this extraordinary panel of survivors, and a piece of advice for current patients, is to look for ways to find joy in the moment, even as darker moments are still fresh.

“The one thing that I would encourage you to do is to keep reaching for the moments of joy in your day, whatever and wherever they may be, but to keep reaching and to pull them close to you,” Kelsie Barnhart, a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed in her late 20s, says.

Kelsie also stresses that even on those rough treatment days, patients should recognize that there is a life beyond cancer. She began to see a light again, she says, when she finished a 5+ year stint taking hormone blockers.

“I felt like I was returning back to my most central self without having my brain chemistry altered, basically,” she says. “And so it’s a real thing, and I’m just really thankful for my friends and my family who were by my side, even in those days where I’m on the bathroom floor crying, never sure if I will be able to see the light again.”

The Reality Of Making Treatment Choices

Another topic the panel touched on is making difficult treatment decisions and the options for preventing cancer from coming back. With breast cancer, it’s not easy deciding the type of surgery you want to undergo — and if you should opt for reconstruction, go flat, etc.

“I think the one thing I didn’t share … is how difficult the decisions are that you have to make when it comes to your body,” survivor and panelist Deb Song says.

For a number of women we spoke to who had earlier stage breast cancer, the decision to undergo active treatment to keep cancer coming back has been a big part of the journey. Some of these women have breast cancer powered by hormones, but not also the HER2 protein, as a feature of their cancer. For patients with this sub-type of cancer, there are an important new range of medicines called CDK 4/6 Inhibitors that are helping improve the odds that breast cancer will not recur.

An important, but often overlooked, aspect of facing breast cancer is its impact on body image. Here, breast oncologist Dr. Elizabeth Comen shares some guidance.

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