From Breast Cancer Patient to Survivor and Advocate–
One Woman’s Story

It was New Year’s Eve 1994. Kim Wright, then 36, her husband and twoyear-old daughter would enjoy a quiet holiday together over Chinese food. A quick shower before the family festivities were to begin would change Kim’s life forever. She felt a large and solid mass in her right breast. She recalls, “I was stunned. I just could not believe it.”

Her Journey to Survivorship

She immediately went to her gynecologist to have this suspicious mass examined. And so began the series of events that would forever change Kim’s life. The next several Fridays were a whirlwind of tests and procedures to confirm Kim’s worst fears. And, along the way, she found out she was pregnant. “I just wanted to be done with the uncertainty and get on with this new and welcome pregnancy.” Yet, life was to throw Kim a curve ball.

“It was explained to me that I would need to have surgery and probably treatment. My doctor would be sending me to a good surgeon. I asked then about the baby. She looked at me for a minute and then quietly said I would not be able to continue the pregnancy. That was when I lost it. I was inconsolable,” recalls Kim in a blog entry she wrote about her experiences.

In the end, Kim says, “The decision to move forward with the surgery and treatment was not a hard one. I had to be there for my two-year-old daughter. I never wanted her to wonder why she was not enough and what took me away from her.”

A New Life Mission

The rest, as they say, is history. Kim’s final treatment was July 3, 1995. She was cancer-free. Since then, she has been a very active advocate for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Kim has volunteered hundreds of hours with the organization in a multitude of capacities, serving as an advocate reviewer of grants on a local and national level, as survivor chair for the Maryland Race for the Cure and graduating from Project LEAD. Kim is also a recipient of half a dozen awards from the organization throughout the years.

“I am an assisted reproductive technologist by trade, but breast cancer advocacy is my life’s work!” says Kim, who has involved her now 15-year-old daughter in many of her efforts. “I can honestly say that breast cancer has changed the course of my life. It has made me who I am today and helped me understand that you need to be an advocate for yourself.”

In addition to the love and support of her family, Kim credits her team of GBMC physicians for her survival, including    Ginny Merryman, MD, OB/GYN, Gary Cohen, MD, medical oncologist, Frank Rotolo, MD, surgeon and Robert Brookland, MD, radiation therapy.

“I am now a 12-year survivor and going strong,” she proudly states. “I do have to say though, that to this day, I am not very fond of Chinese food.”