Bald Ballerina's 5th Birthday

Today Bald Ballerina celebrates her 5th birthday! That is a major milestone as only 27% of metastatic breast cancer patients live 5 years after a diagnosis.

On this 5th Birthday, I am once again facing active cancer in my body just as I did when Bald Ballerina was born on June 24, 2014. I am just as hopeful now as when I was first diagnosed. Many new medical treatments have come on the market since 2014, and I trust my medical team to help me choose the best option for me. 

Over the past 5 years, I learned that I would need both medical and moral support to keep the cancer at bay. Becoming the Bald Ballerina helped me find that support. It also helped spread my message that cancer does not discriminate: No one is too young; No one is too fit; No one is immune from breast cancer.

I am very grateful to everyone who has followed my journey and supported me with encouraging messages, prayers, suggestions, and donations. I treasure and appreciate them all. With your continued support and prayers, I hope to have many, many more years of living and dancing.

Here are some of the highlights of Bald Ballerina’s 5th year:

· Went to Hollywood to film The 100%, a virtual reality film about my cancer survivorship
· The 100% won the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival X Award.
· Received a Walt Disney WorldAnnual Pass from a compassionate cast member
· Visited Paris for the 1st time and saw Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, the Paris Opera and Disneyland Paris.
· Was a panelist at the 2019 Living Beyond Breast Cancer Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference 
· Featured speaker at The Pink Agenda’s 2019 Health & Wellness Educational Symposium in NYC
· Walked en pointe for the 3rd time in bedazzled pointe shoes on the runway in NY Fashion Week for AnaOno and #Cancerland
· Performed in SweetBird Productions Fall Gala with Adrienne Canterna and the Bad Boys of Ballet
· Participated in The Elements Project for METAvivor Research and Support Inc.
· Appeared on Refinery29 for the Novartis 2018 #KissThis4MBCcampaign
· Spoke at the 2018 Novartis Sales Representatives meeting in Dallas, TX
· Spoke about breast cancer and performed at Starbound National Talent Competition at Foxwoods, Atlantic City, and Orlando
· Created the Angels and Phoenix programs for the Dancers Care Foundation 
· Produced my 5th No One Can Survive Alone benefit dance concert which was close to a sellout.
· Continued teaching at local dance studios
· Continued teaching master classes and speaking to young dancers about breast cancer
· Continued performing on a freelance basis

I can’t wait to see what is in store for the Bald Ballerina in the coming years. Thank you to everyone who has shared my journey and who made these wonderful experiences possible. I can’t begin to express how much your support means to me.