& the Beauty BREVITY of life

one woman’s journey as a cancer warrior

WHAT DOES PINK MEAN to you?

“For myself and a lot of my friends who have gone through breast cancer, it’s hard to be called brave. But we are some of the strongest people I know. I think the Bob Marley quote sums it up perfectly. ‘You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.’”

Denise Kaeslin was diagnosed with breast cancer six years ago, and like many breast cancer patients, she remembers the day vividly.

“I was waiting for the results of a biopsy,” remembers Kaeslin. “And as soon as I picked up the phone, I knew instantly it was breast cancer.”

Kaeslin received her care at the Sanford Health Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo from a team dedicated to caring for every aspect of her.

“When I met my oncologist, Dr. Shelby Terstriep, I had every confidence in her expertise to care for my physical self,” explains Kaeslin. “But over the course of the last six years, Dr. Terstriep and my entire team at RMCC have taken care of so much more. They have all been a blessing in my life.”

Kaeslin had a double mastectomy and due to her intense radiation treatments, a traditional breast reconstruction was not feasible. So a part of her healing process included a large chest tattoo to cover her scars and help her deal with her new body.

“After my surgery, I went three years without looking in the mirror,” recalls Kaeslin. “So I had this piece done with cherry blossoms. It reminds me of the beauty and brevity of life.”

Another large part of Kaeslin’s healing process is being involved in her local survivorship community.

“When you are living with this constant anxiety, you are not really living,” says Kaeslin. “The Fargo Moorhead Breast Friends support group gives us a safe place to have open, honest conversations with women who share a similar story. That can be hard to share with people who haven’t been through what we have, especially our loved ones. We can talk openly about the more difficult, sensitive and scary things, and offer support to one another. It helps remind me that I’m not the only one out there going through this.”

After her fight with cancer, Kaeslin also refocused her life.

“You get so caught up in the mindless distractions and noise of day-to-day life,” says Kaeslin. “After my diagnosis, I reconnected with myself. I decided that my life was going to be guided by service, purpose and gratitude. I want to do what I can to make the world a better place and not let cancer or the anxiety that comes with it control me. Because this really is something that changes your life and affects you every day.”

Kaeslin is now a foster mom for local rescue dogs, an advocate for her breast cancer support group, and is striving every day to make a difference.