Contributors

Mark Hicks

Mark is a retired freelance artist and illustrator who has created hundreds of works of art for books, magazines, greeting cards, websites and countless other publications over a long career. After retiring, he hoped to just live a simple life, maybe do volunteer work with his wife at some National Parks and continue to paint, sculpt, and do other creative works – but this time just for art’s sake. However, his wife received a BRCA2-associated cancer diagnosis that shattered that dream. Mark became his late wife’s caregiver as she struggled with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer and all the horrible side effects that come with treatment. In turn, he became a hereditary cancer awareness and prevention advocate. And since his daughter also carries the same germline BRCA2 mutation, he said that his advocacy means even more.

Marissa Holzer

Marissa is a 40-something "flattie" in sunny SoCal living with metastatic breast cancer, her boyfriend (and high school sweetheart) and the memory of her not-so-mini schnauzer, Heidi, who was taken too soon by canine lymphoma. She enjoys reading, stress baking and roller skating. She hopes to inspire others with her stories about life with cancer.

Eugenia Mancini Horan

Eugenia Mancini Horan is an artist, lifelong anxiety sufferer and an early patient of humor and laughter as her medicine. She spent 2019 finding then fighting stage 4 lung cancer and defeating it by 2020, most likely one of the coolest things she’s done. That year in the medical system an end-stage cancer patient with 0% odds gave her a unique perspective about illness and survival. She proudly mothers two questionably behaved dogs and is married to the man who carried her everywhere that year she couldn’t walk. Gina has aspirations to change the world of oncology and also wants to be on the "Great British Baking Show," with only a fundamental lack of skill keeping her from the show. Nothing stops her battle for better patient care.

Dr. William C. Huang

Dr. William C. Huang is the chief of urologic oncology at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York City.

Patricia Jakel, RN

Patricia Jakel, RN, served as an advance practice nurse in the Solid Tumor Program at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), UCLA Health, prior to retiring.

Debbie Legault

Debbie Legault is the mother of a young woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 27. Debbie chose to share the experience of being a full-time caregiver to her daughter during treatment in a blog called “Mom … It’s Cancer” and published the compilation of those thoughts in book format when active treatment was completed. Legault soon realized that the end of treatment was actually just another beginning and continues to write about the realities of survivorship both from her perspective as a caregiver and from her daughter’s point of view.

Tamron Little

Tamron was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma — a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure — in 2007, as a 21-year-old new mother. As a woman diagnosed at just 21 years of age, she was anything but the typical mesothelioma patient. After more than a decade of living with mesothelioma, she began to share her experiences with others by blogging on 

Sue McCarthy

Suzanne (Sue) McCarthy is a comparatively new writer. Sue graduated the University of Delaware, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. After working in several nontraditional academic positions, she started her home-based tutoring business and in 2022 celebrated twenty-five years as a self-employed tutor and business owner, serving school aged students in the Pittsburgh, PA area.

Patti McGee

Selected in 2014 as “Women of Status” by the Oneida, NY Zonta Club for all she does to empower women and girls, life coach and inspirational speaker, Patti McGee is an author, a massage therapist and breast cancer survivor of 20 years. Her career encompasses many years of learning and teaching people about health, nutrition, spirituality and bringing the mind, body and spirit together. Patti has made it her mission to help women and youth to overcome health issues, move past trauma and connect with their mind, body and spirit. She believes living a peaceful and balanced life helps prevent disease and illness. Patti has specialties in mastectomy and breast massage and therapeutic massage. Patti is passionate about helping her clients reduce stress, manage pain and bring a sense of well being to their life.

Dr. Michael J. Pishvaian

Dr. Michael J. Pishvaian is based at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. He is the director of Gastrointestinal, Developmental Therapeutics and Clinical Research Programs for the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in the Greater Washington Area and an associate professor at the School of Medicine.