“You can break down a woman temporarily, but a real woman
will always pick up the pieces, rebuild herself, and come back stronger than
ever.”
These are words that Jackie Leahy would remind herself as
she battled Stage 2 breast cancer at age 34. Jackie had a strength that
couldn’t go unnoticed. When she spoke of her diagnosis and her journey, she
spoke with a softness in her voice, like this was something she conquered and
with ease.
Though it might not have been easy, she looked to her 10
month old daughter as her inspiration. She had to fight for her family, for her
baby and for herself. Experiencing breast cancer at such a young age, with
so much going on in her life, took Jackie by storm. Like anyone, she didn’t feel
beautiful and didn’t feel like herself. But after wearing wigs and fussing with
her new look for hours on end, she eventually said “f*** it!” and wrapped a
colorful scarf around her head full of peach fuzz and added big fabulous
earrings. It was that turning point in her journey, where she took hold of
this cancer journey and was truly “Fighting Pretty.”
Jackie just recently celebrated being done with treatment
for two years, and is ready to start the next chapter of her life. And even
better, has a baby on the way! She’s not
finding out the sex prior to birth because Jackie and her husband appreciate
happy surprises more now than ever before.
This month, we honor Jackie, our March Fighting Pretty icon for
her inner strength, her outer beauty and her fabulous drive to beat cancer with
a smile on her face, a baby in her arms and big earrings on her ears!
“Life is good,” says Jackie. And we agree! Keep on Fighting
Pretty!
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| Photo credit: William Philbin |
