I wish to go to Atlantis
Breanna
17
cancer
Where Are They Now? | Breanna
Where Are They Now? | Breanna
17-year-old Breanna Colombo always had a passion for the game of soccer. Growing up, she never imagined how it would potentially save her health. When she was hit in the stomach with a soccer ball on the field, she knew something wasn’t right.
“I was always a super active person and soccer was always my sport. It was what I always did and in the end it ended up saving my life,” said Breanna.
Breanna and her family were faced with shock when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Breanna was forced to have an extensive surgery to remove a large mass in her abdomen, a cancerous ovary and a fallopian tube. She knew she had to lean into her positivity and go-getter attitude in order to get through this.
Being 17 and hearing you have a cancer diagnosis is really, really hard. It’s never something you expect to hear or that you want to hear.
Breanna
While most of her friends were doing typical high school activities like hanging with friends or going to the movies, Breanna was fighting for her life while enduring chemotherapy. She knew treatments like chemotherapy could have drastic impacts on her body, but she needed to be strong. “I went into it with the mindset that it's not going to happen to me. I am fit, I can fight this. That's not going to happen to me.” She said during treatment most days she was confined to the four edges of her bed.
Family fights battle alongside Breanna
Breanna’s fight with cancer impacted more than just Breanna. Breanna has three siblings who witnessed firsthand how devastating this diagnosis was for their entire family. “Them having to see me go through what I did was really hard for them.”
After her rigorous treatments of chemotherapy, Breanna and her family needed something to look forward to. When Breanna found out her wish would be granted, she knew it was what her family needed to get past this difficult time together. Her wish was to go to Atlantis.
“Being able to wish for whatever I wanted to do, was something that was so exciting and kind of pushed me to keep going.”
The trip gave Breanna and her family the hope and motivation they needed to move past her diagnosis and get her strength back.
“We made it through as a family. This trip inspired them as much as it inspired me. We got to create some memories that will last a lifetime.”
Breanna's diagnosis inspires her to give back
Today, Breanna is 6 years cancer-free and is now a part of the organization that gave her hope and motivation to move past her cancer diagnosis. As a wish specialist for Make-A-Wish Missouri & Kansas, she gets to help grant wishes for kids just like her. Her experiences as a cancer survivor allow her to connect and relate to kids going through similar battles.
“Nobody battles alone,” said Breanna. “There are definitely a lot of people here at Make-A-Wish who will support you and fight this battle with you.”
