Stephanie Skrede, breast cancer survivor, radiates joy, strength, and unapologetic spirit. Her portrait is a celebration of resilience and a reminder that life after cancer can be bold, beautiful, and full of light.
Living Loudly, Loving Fiercely
For Stephanie Skrede of Kaukauna, breast cancer arrived with fear and panic, but quickly transformed into resolve. “By the next day, I knew I needed to live life more than ever,” she says.
Diagnosed with Stage 1 HER2-positive breast cancer, Stephanie underwent a double mastectomy, 12 rounds of chemotherapy, 24 rounds of immunotherapy, and ultimately chose DIEP flap reconstruction. But the hardest part wasn’t the treatment, it was watching her family process it. “Seeing my husband and kids try to understand what was happening was harder than any surgery,” she shares.
Her greatest source of strength came from her 15-year-old daughter. “She was my rock,” Stephanie says. “She came to every appointment, every chemo session, and even got her driving temps during my treatment.”
Stephanie’s perspective on life shifted profoundly. Her daughter had received a liver transplant as a baby, and for the first time, Stephanie saw that experience not as a caregiver, but through the eyes of a patient. “I saw the tough times, but also the full zest for life.”
Initially confident in her self-image, Stephanie found the flat closure more emotionally challenging than expected. “I found myself again through reconstruction,” she says. Today, confidence means being comfortable inside. “What the team did for me physically helped, but learning to love myself from the inside out, that’s where the real healing began.”
Stephanie joined the boudoir-style portrait campaign to challenge the stigma around breast cancer. “You can still be confident, still be yourself, and still have fun,” she says.
Her message to others is bold and uplifting: “It’s going to feel hard, really hard. But take it as a learning experience. This is a life sentence, not a death sentence.”
Her mantra throughout the journey? “You will smile again and truly mean it.”
Stephanie hopes her story and portrait show others that joy, independence, and spunk don’t disappear after cancer. “I’m still me, just amplified.”
And she wants others to know they’re not alone. “It can feel lonely. Reach out. Lean on people. Don’t be afraid to say, ‘I need a break.’”