Grace in Every Step
Suzanne Storrm of Coleman, Wisconsin, never expected her cat’s behavior to be the first clue that something might be wrong. For nearly seven months, her cat had been acting strangely, clawing and biting at the same spot on her chest. Though she had no symptoms, the behavior lingered in her mind. When her routine yearly mammogram came due, she went in as scheduled. The abnormal results didn’t come as a complete shock. “The cat’s behavior had been suspicious,” she says. “It was my first clue, even if I didn’t act on it right away.”
Suzanne was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma and chose to undergo a double mastectomy. What followed was a series of complications: emergency surgery for a hematoma, a severe seroma, and a staph and sepsis infection that left her dangerously ill. “I felt sicker from the infection than I did from the cancer,” she says. Over the course of a year, she endured six surgeries and a long, exhausting recovery.
Through it all, her husband and mother were her anchors. “They stepped up in every way,” she says. “They let me have my moments and supported me through the hardest days.”
Suzanne’s experience reshaped her outlook on life. “I don’t have time for drama or negativity anymore,” she says. “I just want peace, quiet, and a calm life.”
Her sense of identity was deeply impacted. “Breasts are part of your anatomy. Without them, you don’t feel like a woman,” she shares. “I was flat for six months, and people stared—some with judgment, others with sympathy. Neither felt good.”
But confidence, for Suzanne, now means something deeper. “It’s living the life you want, being happy to be alive, and embracing yourself as you are.”
She joined the boudoir-style portrait campaign to heal and to help others. “Even with a disease, you can have a beautiful life,” she says.
One moment that deeply resonated with Suzanne came during a difficult appointment, where she underwent two diagnostic stereotactic mammograms in one visit. While recovering from the side effects, she spoke with a technician who said:
“The information we have today is not only from medical research, but from people in your position who’ve shared their personal experiences, emotions, and struggles. Because of that willingness to share, we can help others know what to expect.”
That message stuck with Suzanne. “It hit me deeply,” she says. “If I can help others in a positive way, I feel like I should, and more importantly, I want to be someone’s support and inspiration.”
Her message to those newly diagnosed is simple and powerful: “One step at a time. You can’t control anything else. Worrying about everything at once won’t make it better; it’ll only make you feel worse. Focusing on everything at once and fearing the unknown is too overwhelming. It’s not productive and only creates anxiety and distress. Just focus on the current step and getting through it.”
Her mantra throughout the journey? “This too shall pass.”
Suzanne hopes her story and portrait inspire others to love themselves, imperfections and all. “If I can be brave enough to do this with a middle-aged, imperfect, altered body and a few scars, so can you.”