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Kelly Evans

My name is Kelly Evans and I am a 3 year breast cancer survivor. It is interesting how looking forward to being able to say that you are a survivor can become a link to survival. I was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in 2008. Even though I have a family history of breast, prostate and ovarian cancer, the diagnosis came as a surprise. It depressed me to think about the therapy I would have to go through and what the future would hold for me. I knew that there was no time to waste so I started searching for a breast surgeon which led me to Fox Chase Cancer Center.

I began to go to Fox Chase for doctor's appointments, chemotherapy and radiation. When you first find out you have breast cancer, the doctors seem to be the only people who can help you-they have your future in their hands and they are the people who can pull you out of your shock and make you realize that being diagnosed is not the end of the world. With additional support from my close friends and family, they really helped me to pull through this ordeal. I just had to fight. People do survive and the doctors at Fox Chase truly helped me to overcome. I will always be thankful for all the help that I received at Fox Chase and for everything that the doctors and nurses helped me get through.

I came to the conclusion that I was going to beat cancer. As people say, you go from patient to survivor when you stop asking "Why me?" and start asking "What can I learn?" I believed that I could beat the pink C, as I like to call breast cancer, and I started learning as much as I could about cancer and what to do once I survived. I am living a normal life after cancer and feel very proud and blessed to call myself a 'survivor.' I welcome the opportunity to inspire others with my story and to offer hope and support.