Fight Like a Warrior: Five Women. One Powerful Victory.

For many, the journey through cancer begins with a single moment—a doctor’s words that divide life into a distinct before and after. It is as if a curtain falls, plunging the room into darkness and silence.

“I’m sorry to inform you that you have breast cancer.”

A sentence that one in eight women in the United States have heard or will hear in their lifetime—a sentence that changes everything.

For Terri Casey, those words arrived in August 2019, at the age of 61, after a routine mammogram. As far as Terri knew, none of her family members had ever had breast cancer, though she later learned that her grandmother and aunt had both had the same terrible disease.

In September of that year, Terri found herself beneath the harsh, sterile lights of an operating room as she underwent a lumpectomy. Days blurred into weeks and then months of radiation treatments—a journey symbolized by her daily drive to Lexington and an “Avacolada” from Tropical Smoothie, a ritual of comfort during an uncertain time. That tradition continued through each checkup, until August 2024, when Terri was told she was officially cancer free; the news felt like the first rays of sunrise after a long night.

All the while, Terri’s husband, Don, battled glioblastoma multiforme which he was diagnosed with in 2015. Their family surrounded Don with love until his final days when he lost his battle in 2020. Terri, busy caring for Don and cherishing their time together, barely had time to process her own diagnosis. It was only after his passing that she stepped back to see, as if through a clearing mist, how fortunate she was to have continued caring for him even as she faced her own storm.

“I never saw myself as a victim of cancer, but as a survivor of a traumatic experience in my life,” Terri said. “Maybe that is a denial, but I truly believe it is because I never dwelled on my diagnosis but tackled it with the knowledge that God had a plan for me, and I wasn’t done here yet.”

It was February 24, 2021, when Stacey Sheppard said she experienced what felt like a punch to the gut as she heard those same words that Terri had heard only two years prior. Stacey was heading into a restaurant for lunch with her son when the phone rang, the world around her froze as the earth-shattering news was delivered. 

“On the other end of the phone was a nurse with the news that no one should ever hear, ‘Mrs. Sheppard, I'm sorry to inform you but you have breast cancer.’ The rest of the conversation was very fuzzy because I couldn't get past the news I just heard.”

At 47 years old, Stacey had to face all the what ifs that come along with a diagnosis like that, eventually making the decision to have a bilateral mastectomy and then started on a daily pill that she continued to take for five years.

“Going through the process is not for the faint of heart,” Stacey said. “Battling cancer takes a warrior’s mentality. My relationship with Jesus grew stronger and that is where all my strength came from, but also my amazing support circle of family and friends.”

Next April, Stacey will be cancer free for five years.

It was three years later when Stacey’s sister, Michal Davidson, got her breast cancer diagnosis, taking Stacey back to that same place she was in when she heard those harrowing words for herself. This time though, Stacey found herself in a unique position to help others walk a similar path. It was a role she embraced when her sister, Michal, received her own diagnosis.

“This time was different, I knew what she was going to go through and what to expect,” Stacey said. “Every story is different, and every battle and journey are not the same. The mindset in which you approach the battle is your biggest battle. Michal and I talked a lot, and we were able to walk through her journey together.”

Michal was 46 years old when she received her diagnosis. Michal spoke of the immediate desire to be rid of the invader within her body. She chose a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction and has now basked in the light of remission for two years and eight months.

During that time, Michal leaned on Stacey when things got tough, as Stacey was a comforting voice when Michal needed someone who understood all she was going through.

“Sometimes that looked like just hugging each other and crying, other times it was cracking jokes and other times it was just being present,” she said. “God is truly in control of all things. And this was no different. Our relationship became stronger than ever before. It also revealed to me that I wasn’t there for her like she was for me. All trials are learning experiences if we allow it though. Thankful I learned some valuable lessons.”

Charlotte Harris and Debbie Gibson are another set of sisters who were both diagnosed with breast cancer, though for Charlotte and Debbie, it was within just six months of each other. Their mother also had breast cancer in the ‘70s.

Charlotte, ever diligent with mammograms and biopsies, was shocked when, at 67, she herself received the diagnosis. Because of her attentiveness, she caught her cancer early, and in May 2021, underwent surgery followed by 20 rounds of radiation. Each treatment felt like stepping deeper into the fog, but Charlotte found comfort in her faith.

On her last day of radiation, Charlotte saw a wooden sign she had never seen before in the waiting room that bore the same Bible verse she had been repeating to herself since the beginning of her cancer journey: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

“When I saw that on that very last treatment day, I thought, ‘God has been with me through this whole thing.’ That just verified that he was taking care of me.”

Charlotte has been cancer-free for four years now.

Because of her diagnosis, Charlotte encouraged her female family members to go in for mammograms, urging that her sister, Debbie, who hadn’t had a mammogram in 11 years, get checked out immediately.

“My sister saved my life,” Debbie said. Though she was hesitant, Debbie went in for a mammogram where she learned she had a mass in her left breast at 59 years old.

“You get that initial thought of, ‘am I going to die?’ and then you think, ‘no, I’m going to beat this thing.’”

And luckily for Debbie, she had Charlotte there to help her every step of the way. Much like Stacey and Michal, Charlotte and Debbie found themselves drawing strength not only from their faith, but from each other. The shared experience of confronting breast cancer as sisters became another bond. For both pairs of sisters, the journey was marked by moments of sorrow and resilience, and a renewed appreciation for the power of connection during life’s most difficult seasons.

“You can have more compassion for someone who has been through it,” Charlotte said. “It was pretty devastating for me, because I knew what I had went through and then I knew what my sister was going to have to go through. I knew what to expect, but she didn’t know what to expect. I was dreading it for her.”

Just a couple weeks later, Debbie was having surgery to remove the mass they found in her breast and followed surgery up with 20 rounds of radiation therapy, which she did all while continuing to work at South Laurel High School. Debbie has been cancer-free for three years now.

United by circumstance, each woman’s story is marked by moments of fear, vulnerability, and ultimately, profound strength. Though their paths to healing were uniquely personal, the common thread of sisterhood—whether by blood or by shared experience—binds them inseparably.

As women who have faced such a devastating diagnosis and even more devastating treatments and recoveries, they all have come out of it with a deeper appreciation for their lives and the love of those around them.

Gratitude now colors their every day. Each woman speaks of a renewed appreciation for life’s simplest blessings: the laughter of their children and grandchildren, the comfort of loved ones, the promise of their faith.

“You appreciate life more after you have been through something like that,” Charlotte said.

“You don’t take your days for granted, you appreciate what you’ve got,” Debbie said. “You don’t take for granted what you’ve got. You don’t take your kids for granted, you don’t take your husband for granted, you don’t take your grandkids for granted. You don’t take your religion for granted.”

For Michal, her diagnosis taught her how quickly things can happen that change you who you are as a person.

“It made me value people and relationships different. And it has made me focus on being more present for myself, as well as others. When everything stops suddenly, you realize what is priority really quickly.”

Stacey has used her battle with breast cancer to help other women facing the same diagnosis she was faced with in 2021.

“Having gone through breast cancer has allowed me to have empathy for other women,” she said. “You can’t have empathy for someone until you experience what they are going through. God has given me the ability to listen and encourage other people with a breast cancer diagnosis. Being a breast cancer survivor is not something that anyone wants to go through but once you have, you become part of a special group of ladies that are true warriors!”

The collective wisdom of these five breast cancer survivors now serves as a beacon of hope for others walking a similar path. Through small gestures—a reassuring word, a shared story, a gentle embrace—these warriors extend hope to those still battling, reminding them that strength can be found even in the darkest of moments.