Taylor Hayes, breast cancer survivor, embodies resilience and quiet power. Her portrait is a declaration of strength, a reminder that even in the darkest storm, there is light, purpose, and hope.
I Am the Storm
At just 30 years old, Taylor Hayes of Cumberland, Wisconsin, received a phone call at work that changed everything. “It felt like an out-of-body experience,” she recalls. “You never think it’s going to be you, especially when you’re that young.”
Diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, Taylor underwent a bilateral mastectomy, implant reconstruction, 3D nipple tattoos, four rounds of chemotherapy, and began a 10-year track of post-cancer treatment. “I felt like I was living in a body that wasn’t my own,” she says. “It never felt safe or familiar.”
Throughout her journey, Taylor was surrounded by an “army of people” who lifted her up. “Their support got me to the survival stage,” she says. “But when it faded, I realized how lonely survivorship can be.”
Her diagnosis reshaped her priorities. “I want to be a wife. I want to be a mom. I don’t take those dreams for granted anymore.”
Now, nearly four years out from surgery, Taylor embraces her identity as a breast cancer survivor. “It’s part of who I am, and it brings me strength,” she says. Confidence, once tied to appearance, now comes from within. “My breasts used to make me feel sexy. Now, they’re a symbol of my strength.”
Taylor joined the boudoir-style portrait campaign to be a source of strength for others. “I went through this for a reason, and that reason is to help other women.”
Her message to those newly diagnosed is heartfelt: “Surround yourself with people. Don’t do it alone. Asking for help doesn’t make you weak, it makes you strong.”
She carries with her a powerful mantra, gifted on a bracelet: “Fate whispered to the warrior, ‘You cannot withstand the storm.’ The warrior whispered back, ‘I am the storm.’”
Taylor hopes her story and portrait show others that there is another side to the journey. “You won’t always look like someone who’s had cancer. But behind every face, there’s a story, and a fight you may never see.”
And she wants the world to know: “Cancer doesn’t care about age. It can happen to anyone.”