My Breast Cancer Journey - a Guest Blog Series by Savanna James (Part 2 of 5 “Pre Surgery”)

This is the second in a five-part guest blog series by Savanna James discussing her breast cancer journey. See the first installment here. I hope you'll read and share them all.

Photo by
Deanna Webber Photography

We are more than pink. We are people. We are friends. We are daughters, sisters, mothers, co-workers, aunts, even fathers and brothers. We are never defined by a stigma and we are never alone. And we do not have to feel that way. As a human, all you need is hope, and, for that, we have each other.

I’m going to be beyond vulnerable here, but knowing that my story could help save at least once person is what saved my life and kept me fighting. In that moment, and every single day since, I had to learn how to take a situation that is so undesirable and turn it into a platform for change and awareness. I began to see an opportunity, not a closed, boarded door. This is what kept, and keeps, me fighting each and every day to do a little bit better, to be a little bit better and to share my story to at least one more person.

On January 11, 2020, I competed in a local preliminary pageant for Miss South Carolina. 

Crazy, right? I was less than a month away from something that could either save my life, or end it, and I was pageant prepping. Let me explain. In the middle of all of the chaos, I knew that  despite whatever the outcome would be on February 10, I had at least a month to let my voice be heard if I won. The Miss South Carolina and Miss America Organizations were, and still are, my best shot at getting that recognized platform for people to listen. I knew people would listen. I just had to take the chance. 

That night, I was crowned Miss Summerville and I saw a light

starting to form at the end of the tunnel. I spent the next weeks going to as many events, making as many posts, making as many connections, and talking to every single person that I could. If I was going out, I was going out with a bang. 

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I hope you'll come back next week for the third installment of her story. To find out more about Savanna and her breast cancer diagnosis, visit her Section 36 Pageants profile page for links and more info.