Introducing Our 56th Issue
PARADOX
10th Annual Metastatic Breast Cancer Issue
Vol. 10, Issue No. 5
Oct / Nov 2025
Each October, we devote an entire issue to those diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
This year, we are exploring the theme of “paradox.” Paradox refers to a situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities.
Living with metastatic breast cancer often means living a contradiction; the unexpectedly joyful surprises and the heartbreaking lessons. It’s balancing the weight, grief, and logistics of a terminal diagnosis while keeping up with the daily routines of living: picking up the kids from school, going to work, traveling. And sometimes the mundane, day-to-day activities required of life and managing illness can feel so distant from what truly nurtures your spirit and helps you thrive.
We invited writers to show us their lives. We asked: how do you make sense of living while navigating the uncertainty of your future? How has your diagnosis sharpened your perspective on what it means to live well today, despite, or perhaps because of, the challenges you face? How to hold hope and fear at the same time?
Their answers are beautifully shared with you in this one-of-a-kind issue.
Paper Copy Dimensions
121 full-color pages on premium paper
Book size: 4.25” x 5.5”
Also available as a dynamic digital download.
“Actively living is saving my life just as much as medicine is.”
Our unique storytelling and thoughtful design put us in a category of our own.
The Paradox issue is for you if...
You’re learning to live in two realities at once — the one where you’re thriving and the one where you’re uncertain.
You’ve ever felt the contradiction of hope and grief sharing the same breath.
You’re tired of being told to “stay positive” and are instead searching for something real.
You’ve wondered what it means to live well inside a body that feels unpredictable.
You are living with metastatic breast cancer or you love someone with MBC and want to better understand what their days are really like.
You’ve felt your own “before” and “after” selves tugging against each other.
You know what it is to both surrender and fight — often in the same moment.
You’re learning that healing doesn’t always mean curing.
You believe all breast cancer stories deserve to be told.
Wildfire Journal is not your typical cancer magazine. Below you’ll find a sampling of real pages from within this beautiful book-ish issue.
“The paradox is where the whole story lives... The more capacity we build for grief, the more capacity we uncover for joy.”
Underwriter Support Provided by:
ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis; AnaOno; iRise Above Foundation; Project Life; Temple of Kinship; Triage Cancer; Young Breast Cancer Project; Young Survival Coalition.
Meet Guest Editor & Cover Star
Alyssa Tsagong
Diagnosed at 38 and 41. IDC, StageIII, and then Stage IV, ER+, HER2 low. Current Lines of Treatment: I-PREDICT clinical trial Enhertu, Orserdu, Lenvima, Xgeva.
Recently retired from a career in public media and education, Alyssa is now working to channel her creativity for her health, her family, and artistic mischief. Recognizing the potency and magic of friendship in her own life, she co-founded a non-profit with her best friend, Megan. Temple of Kinship offers retreats for MBC Thrivers and their chosen friend to strengthen and sustain supportive healing relationships, build community, and tend to kinship with their bodies, spirit, and nature. Alyssa is also a METAvivor Peer to Peer support group leader in southeast Wisconsin. You'll often find her with pockets full of stones and cedar twigs, dreaming new ideas into being with ink stained fingers and exploring with her husband, Dhondup, and their two amazing kids.
“I feel grateful for the skills and capacity that I have to learn, to research, and to be able to advocate for myself and actively participate in determining my medical care. I am proud when I ask a doctor a question that changes the plan.
And
I feel resentful and fearful that I have to shoulder so much responsibility, to feel that I have to dedicate so much of my attention and energy towards self-advocacy and scientific understanding. I just want to be taken care of.
These two truths co-exist in me, crashing into one another and in flux — a burst of inquiry followed by a week I’ve sworn off cancer research and leave my laptop behind while I take long walks in the forest.
Living with MBC has stretched my capacity to embrace the subtle and multifaceted reality that is nearly always aradoxical when I look at the full picture. As I’ve processed and shared my own observations about this, talked about the joy and grief that arrive tied together in my heart, I’ve found that other thrivers nod their heads in profound understanding.”
— Alyssa, “Guest Editor Note” (read Alyssa’s piece from within the issue, “Friendship is Sacred”)
The “Paradox” Writers
The storytelling approach we take in each issue of Wildfire is deeply community-driven. Our contributors are young survivors, thrivers, and fighters, writing from inside the experience—not looking back from a comfortable distance. Each piece is curated to foster connection, validation, and a sense of belonging, ensuring that when you pick up Wildfire, you see reflections of your own fears, hopes, and transformations.
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Lauren Brasher
Licensed Professional Counselor. Diagnosed in 2021 at 34, de novo Stage IV, HER2+. Current Lines of Treatment: Xeloda pills daily for two weeks, then one week off.
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Sarah Deer
Teacher, Librarian. Diagnosed in 2014 at 27, IDC, Stage III, ER+, PR+. Diagnosed in 2021 at 33, Stage IV. Current Lines of Treatment: In between treatment lines.
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Carolina Ezzo
Diagnosed at 32, mixed IDC and ILC, de novo Stage IV, ER+, PR+, HER2 ultra low. Current Lines of Treatment: First line of treatment, Kisqali and Letrozole, following a bilateral oophorectomy.
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Kelley Franks
Medically Retired School Social Worker. Diagnosed at 36 and 41. IDC, Stage IIb, ER+, PR+, and then Stage IV, ER+, PR+, HER2 low. Current Lines of Treatment: Trodelvy IV chemo, two weeks on, one week off.
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Kate Gray
Holistic Nutritionist. Diagnosed in 2005 at 28, IDC, ER+, PR+. Age 30, BRCA2 gene mutation discovered. Age 42, 2019 second diagnosis. Age 45, 2021 third diagnosis. Age 48, 2024 Stage IV. Current Lines of Treatment: Following all the Radical Remission research guidelines, and choosing no medical treatment at this time due to severe side effects.
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Cheri Henderson
Diagnosed in 2019 at 39, IDC, Stage IIIa, ER+, PR+. Diagnosed in 2021 at 41, Stage IV, ER+, PR+, HER2 low. Current Lines of Treatment: Enhertu.
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Lauren Huffmaster
Cancer Coach, Founder, Author, Podcast Host, Advocate. Diagnosed in 2015, Stage III. Diagnosed in 2017 at 37, Stage IV, Triple Negative.
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Caitlan Killian
Writer, Podcaster, Founder of Still Good Co. Diagnosed in 2019 at 29, IDC, Stage III, Triple Negative. Diagnosed in 2021 at 31, Stage IV, PDL1. Current Lines of Treatment: Tecentriq infusions every four weeks.
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Teckla King-O'Connor
Medically Retired. Diagnosed in 2016 at 37, IDC, de novo Stage IV, ER+. Current Lines of Treatment: Enhertu, which is her fourth line of treatment.
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Esther Yumi Ko
Writer, Photographer. Diagnosed in 2019 at 32, IDC, Stage IV, Triple Positive. Current Lines of Treatment: Third line, Letrozole/Ribociclib.
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Wendi Lopatecki
TCM Assistant, Natural Plasterer, Weaver, Gardener, Musician. Diagnosed in 2022 at 47, Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Stage IV, ER+, BRCA+. Current Lines of Treatment: Hormone therapy in the form of monthly injections, estrogen blockers, and an oral medication biological drug.
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Kelly C. Marshall
Medically Retired. Diagnosed in 2017 at 49, IDC, Stage II, ER+. Diagnosed in 2020 at 51. Stage IV, ER+, HER2 low. Current Lines of Treatment: Capcitabine (Xeloda), which is her fourth line of treatment.
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Francesca Olsen
Textile Artist, Consultant. Diagnosed in 2022 at 35, IDC, Stage II, HER2+, and then Stage IV. Current Lines of Treatment: Enhertu, Xgeva.
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Laurie Pomeranz
Psychotherapist. Diagnosed in 2010 at 42, Stage IIB, IDC and ILC, ER+, PR+. Diagnosed in 2022 at 54, Stage IV. Current Lines of Treatment: Ibrance, Faslodex.
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Shari J. Schindel, Psy.D
Clinical Psychologist & Entrepreneur. Diagnosed in 2013 at 45, DCIS and ILC, Stage III, ER+, PR+. Diagnosed in 2022, at 54, Stage IV. Current Lines of Treatment: Ibrance and Elacestrant.
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Amy Slonaker
Adjunct Professor, Board Member. Diagnosed in 2014, DCIS, ER+. Diagnosed in 2017 at 45, Stage IV. Current Lines of Treatment: Ibrance, Letrozole, Xgeva shots.
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Keri Smith
Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. Diagnosed at 37. IDC, Stave IV, ER+, PR+. Then, Stage IV. Current Lines of Treatment: Kisqalie, Anastrazole, and Lupron, which are her first line.
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Alyssa Tsagong
Artist, Mom, Co-founder, and Serendipity Cultivator. Diagnosed at 38 and 41. IDC, Stage III, and then Stage IV, ER+, HER2 low. Current Lines of Treatment: I-PREDICT clinical trial Enhertu, Orserdu, Lenvima, Xgeva.
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Sara Vieira
Writer, Trainer. Diagnosed in 2016 at 38, Stage I, , ER+, PR+. Diagnosed in 2023 at 45, Stage IV. Current Lines of Treatment: Ribociclib, letrozole, denosumab, goserrelin.
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Faryn Wolff
Stay-at-home mom. Diagnosed at 30. IDC, de novo Stage IV, ER+, CHECK2.
“In the shadow of a disease slowly taking my life, I am more certain of my purpose than I ever imagined.”
At Wildfire, we are challenging the sterile, pink-washed narratives of traditional breast cancer media.
Each issue is a beautifully designed, book-quality collection of raw, moving, and visually rich personal essays, reflecting the reality of survivorship in all its complexity. By elevating the stories of those who have been marginalized in mainstream cancer conversations, we foster connection, advocacy, and a lasting legacy of truth-telling.
Our design philosophy is artful, immersive, and editorially rich. We blend evocative photography, bold typography, and modern layout design to create a reading experience that is both literary and visually compelling. This attention to aesthetics elevates the deeply personal narratives, reinforcing that breast cancer stories deserve the same level of artistry and care as any major literary publication.
Happy reading (and writing!).
— April Stearns, Founder & Editor-in-Chief
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