A Metastatic Breast Cancer Survivor Finds Comfort in Social Media

With technology advancements from the past 10 years, cancer communities are now more accessible via the internet. However, in 2015, Annie Bond, a comedian and survivor of metastatic breast cancer longed for a community of people she could empathize with.

After Bond, then 26, noticed a lump in her breast and some weight gain in her left armpit, she visited her gynecologist and two other doctors. Nevertheless, each of them told her she was “too young for cancer,” Bond recalled during an interview with Heal. Nine months passed before anyone recommended that she undergo an ultrasound and other diagnostic testing, but by then, her cancer had metastasized to her liver, she said.

When Bond finally received her diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer, her first oncologist said she would have three to five years to live.

“Next year, it’ll be 10 years, so he was incorrect,” Bond said. “It took me about two years to reach no evidence of disease, but since, I have basically stayed there, which has been amazing.”

Bond underwent multiple surgeries, including a procedure to remove the tumors in her liver, a lumpectomy to remove the breast tumors and a procedure to remove her ovaries after freezing her eggs. Her treatment also consisted of eight weeks of radiation, and she started taking Ibrance (palbociclib) pills, which has “been the most successful line of treatment I’ve had,” she said.

READ MORE: Focusing Energy on Cancer-Related Fatigue

Bond felt alone because she didn’t know anyone else who had experienced metastatic breast cancer, especially at her age. So, when social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, began opening the door to different communities, Bond shared her story.

“One of the biggest things that I have struggled with was feeling all that guilt [alone],” Bond said. “The unfortunate thing about being in the metastatic community is [that] you do lose a lot of people because it is a cruel and unfair disease. I think in those first couple of losses, I just started to feel really angry and helpless. Then I realized it doesn't matter who's talking — if one of us is succeeding, we’re all succeeding.”

In a place like social media, breaking down the barriers of perfection has been important — particularly in discussing the good, the bad and the ugly.

“To [patients and survivors], because [cancer] is a dark and sad and awful disease, I think that’s why it’s so great that we have social media where people can find so many inside jokes and all of that fun stuff together,” Bond explained. “But I think the most healing part of this community is when we feel those dark thoughts that only we have, because we all share those thoughts.”

Others with cancer — including adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer — have thanked Bond for speaking at hospitals about her good and bad experiences with cancer.

“The first time I was brave enough to speak up about [those dark thoughts], at a hospital, I can’t tell you — every single person who came up to me after was like, ‘Thank you so much for talking about that because I’ve been through that.’ And I thought I wasn’t allowed to tell anybody because I had already put so much on them,” Bond said. “We don’t ask to get cancer. We know that cancer can happen to anybody at any time. You can’t be too young for cancer.”

Because topics related to cancer can be difficult to discuss, Bond combines her passion for cancer advocacy and comedy to create content on social media.

“I try to find a balance between just sharing my life and then also presenting very important information in a digestible way,” she explained. “One of the hardest things about being an AYA, especially somebody like me who got a degree in acting [and] didn’t get a science degree, [is that] I have to try so hard to be good at it.”

She ensures that her facts are accurate by doing research and talking with her doctor before sharing what she has learned with her social media followers.

“Another thing I love is just showing people that you can have a fun and full and beautiful life, even with the worst,” Bond said. “I think that it's so helpful for people [and] for me. The reason I wanted to be a sitcom star when I was young is because no matter what is going on [in your life, if] you can sit and you can just laugh for a minute, it's really helpful.

“I would say laughter is the best medicine besides the actual medicine.”

Read the rest of the Heal Fall 2024 issue here.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.