From Ballerina to Breast Cancer Survivor: Anna’s Journey of Resilience and Advocacy

In the spring of 2018, Anna Wassman-Cox was two months from graduation at Loyola University in Chicago. Her plans were all falling into place. She had accepted a marketing job she was excited about and was on track to graduate with the highest honors. Then she noticed a lump in her breast.

As a former professional ballerina, Anna has always been in tune with her body, so she immediately knew that what she was feeling wasn’t normal.

“I figured I was too young for this to be anything serious,” Anna said. “But I made an appointment with my doctor to get it checked out, just so I could quit overthinking.”

After an initial exam, her doctor scheduled a breast ultrasound. Anna remembers getting increasingly nervous as the ultrasound was being done. Her doctor then recommended a breast biopsy, which revealed her diagnosis: invasive ductal carcinoma, one of the most common types of breast cancer.

Anna’s mind instantly went to what she was on the brink of achieving and thinking about all she could lose.

“I just thought, I’m not going to be able to do anything I was looking forward to,” she said. “I felt like I was going to lose everything, and there was nothing I could do about it.”

Finding control - and losing it again

To take back some sense of control, Anna had a discussion with her doctor about treatment options. Anna’s best option was to have chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and surgery. She knew chemotherapy was harsh and didn’t want to delay graduation when she was so close to crossing the finish line. She and her doctor decided that instead of starting treatment with chemotherapy, she’d first have surgery — a bilateral mastectomy. The recovery time for surgery was shorter than for chemotherapy. This would allow her mind to be sharp enough to finish her last college semester.

Between having surgery and starting chemotherapy, Anna graduated and earned the Dean’s Key, an award for her academic excellence. She completed six rounds of chemotherapy and a full year of targeted therapy. Once she recovered from chemotherapy, she was able to start her new job in marketing while she completed the rest of her treatment.

In May 2022, Anna had almost reached the 5-year survival milestone. But at four and a half years, she felt another lump in the same area. Anna tried to reassure herself that it was just scar tissue, but a breast MRI and two biopsies revealed a recurrence — her cancer had returned. And she wasn’t yet 30 years old.

“When you are first diagnosed, it feels like time stops for you, but it keeps moving forward for everyone else,” Anna said. “When I had my recurrence, it felt like that happened again. I’d just been getting back to who I was before when everything was derailed.”

This time, Anna’s doctor recommended a new targeted therapy, which was successful against Anna’s tumor. A year and a half of targeted therapy, along with more surgery and radiation, and she was cancer-free again.

As a person of Asian American heritage, Anna said she was constantly looking for cancer stories from other young Asian American women, but she kept coming up short. She started sharing her cancer experience in the hopes that others could relate to what she’d been through. She also hoped that greater visibility of stories like hers within the Asian American community would spread awareness — that no matter your age, race, or ethnicity, you can find someone in your community who has faced cancer.

Today, Anna is a vocal advocate for breast cancer survivors, especially those who are part of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

“On the rare occasion that I’d find a story of someone who looked like me, it made me feel less alone,” she said. “It’s been so meaningful for me to be part of these conversations, to finally feel accepted and make others feel accepted, too.”

Creating a new path after cancer

Anna’s recurrence made her think differently about life following a cancer diagnosis.

“The first time I was diagnosed, I thought, okay, once I’ve beaten cancer, I’ll put it behind me. I’ll be done,” Anna said. “The second time, I had to change my mindset. It’s like a chronic disease. Instead of getting through treatment and getting back to my life, I’ve had to accept that there is no going back. Cancer changed the trajectory of my life.”

Since her recurrence, Anna has had to decide what this new version of her life would include. Just before her re-diagnosis in 2022, she had signed up for a ballet class. 

Though she was a former professional ballerina, Anna said she “hadn’t danced in years at that point, but it felt like nothing else mattered around me. When you’re dancing, you have to shut everything else out and focus on what your body is doing.”

During treatment, she needed that more than ever. Anna began dancing regularly again, and in November 2023, she founded the Onco-Ballet Foundation, which offers free ballet classes for people in the cancer community. Anna’s goal was to give people going through cancer treatment an opportunity to express themselves without words. 

“I’m in several amazing support groups, and talking through my experience has helped me in so many ways, but some days, I don’t feel like talking,” Anna said. “Dance has always felt meditative for me, and it’s been amazing to be able to provide that for other people. I tell people, even if you can’t control anything else, you can control this next hour of your life.”

The Onco-Ballet Foundation grew in popularity, and soon, Anna’s dancers said they wanted to perform. They looked forward to every dance class and wanted to build toward something special, something to look forward to during the toughest parts of treatment. In November 2024, Anna led the first-ever performance of the Onco-Ballet dancers. 

“Because of where we’re all at in treatment, we never had a full rehearsal where everyone was there, until dress rehearsal,” Anna said. “That was the first time we all danced together, and then everyone performed together. I love that I got to give them that moment.”

Anna’s suggestion for other young cancer survivors is to find something that makes you feel like yourself, that makes you feel in control, and share it with others. 

“Since starting Onco-Ballet Foundation, I’ve seen a ripple effect. I’ve met people who say dance just isn’t their thing, but they are inspired to give back in their own way. If you have something that’s personal to you, find a way to share it,” she said.