Updated September 24th, 2025

‘This Panel Felt Like a Big Hug’ — Optimistic For The Future & Starting The Next Chapter

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SurvivorNet Breast Cancer Dialogues: The Awesome Experience of Being Together

Four breast cancer survivors met for the first time and shared their journeys, transforming vulnerability into connection and leaving behind a message of collective strength in SurvivorNet’s Breast Cancer Dialogues series

We can’t guarantee you feel like you got a hug after watching The Breast Cancer Dialogues, but the women who came together for this event said that’s what they were left with inside.

They arrived as strangers, each carrying some of the weight of breast cancer, but seemed to have left with some shared strength. In their first-ever meeting, four women opened up about survival, vulnerability, and the power of community as part of SurvivorNet’s Breast Cancer Dialogues—a series designed to help patients feel less alone and more empowered on the road to healing.

For Marygrace Graves, a survivor from upstate New York who works in marketing, the day was defined by purpose.

“I’m feeling empowered. I feel like we’re going to help a lot of people, and it’s been so great to hear everybody’s stories,” she said.

Connecticut entrepreneur Joshalyn Mills is looking toward what lies ahead. “This makes me more excited for the future. If there are any more opportunities to meet other women like this,” she reflected, underscoring the importance of connection and shared strength.

WATCH: The Transformations They Never Saw Coming; On The Other Side of Breast Cancer

Viviana Figueroa, who works in benefits for an investment bank, echoed that sentiment, finding empowerment in solidarity, “Coming together with other amazing survivors is always a treat and a reminder that there is strength in community.”’

New York yoga instructor and masseuse, Suzanne Hyde, was nervous as she was finishing breast cancer treatment.

“It feels like a big hug, just being around these other women that have also been through it… I hope that their stories and my story help other women on their journey with cancer.”

Their stories echo a truth that every survivor deserves to hear—healing is powerful, but healing together is transformative. In a community, strength multiplies.

Content independently created by SurvivorNet with support from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.

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