In 2004, just three months after her wedding, 31-year-old corporate giant Caryn Sullivan was diagnosed with breast cancer. Caryn’s treatment of choice was aggressive therapy; she had a bilateral mastectomy followed by chemotherapy. Physically and emotionally, she was a mess, she recalls, until she got the green light. She was cancer-free. 

She jumped back on the corporate bandwagon believing she was one and done, and nine years later, the cancer returned. Caryn was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. 

The young, corporate mother was determined to beat the odds. “It was devastating, but you don’t have to be devastated,” she reflects. Instead of trying to survive, she was going to thrive.

She changed her eating habits overnight, started taking hot yoga classes, walked away from her corporate job and started her own business dedicated to inspiring others to improve their health and happiness. She even wrote a book – Happiness through Hardship, a practical guide full of ideas for cancer patients to help them navigate their unexpected journey. To hear Caryn’s inspirational story, listen to The Breast of Everything podcast, hosted by Comprehensive Breast Care Surgeons Linsey Gold, DO, FACS, FACOS; and Ashley Richardson, DO, FACOS.