Dialogue: Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Triple negative breast cancer carries a stigma as more difficult to treat than any other breast cancer types. We invited two patient advocates to share their journey with triple-negative breast cancer and address the stigmas. They discuss their diagnoses, treatments, advocacy, and lives after cancer.

Melanie A. Nix, MBA, is a triple negative breast cancer survivor, transformational speaker, resilience coach, and co-founder of Breast Cancer Comfort Site. A masterful storyteller, her candor and strength are hallmarks of her timeless messages about survival, reconstruction, and resilience. Guided by her manifesto, she shares her transformational and empowering lessons for achieving dreams and moving from Diagnosis to Destiny. A carrier of the BRCA1 genetic mutation and fifth generation breast cancer patient, she serves on numerous health advisory councils and boards.

Cynthia Ryan, Ph.D., is a survivor of both triple-negative and estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. She is also a professor of writing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she specializes in teaching students who are pursuing careers in science and medicine. In her role as an advocate, Cynthia writes about misperceptions about cancer science and the complexities of survivorship in publications including LA TImes, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and Cancer Today. She is also the founder of the trademarked program Street Smarts, a cancer education event for women who are homeless in her adopted city of Birmingham, Alabama.