Did you know? American Cancer Society’s Making Strides of West Michigan Presented by Pfizer is a celebration of courage and hope—a movement uniting communities to end breast cancer as we know it, for everyone. Taking place October 17, 2026 starting at 8 a.m. at Calder Plaza, Making Strides is the nation’s largest and most impactful breast cancer fundraiser walk.
Whether you choose to sign up to walk, lead a team, donate funds, volunteer, become a sponsor, or simply cheer on friends and loved ones, your participation makes a difference.
Read on for two stories from local cancer survivors telling their stories in their own words and bringing awareness on how the American Cancer Society is here to support them through every cancer journey.
Mona Lisa Watson
A follower of Christ. A wife. A mother. A community advocate. A change agent. A daughter. A sister. A woman. Those were the titles that defined my life. Then on September 18, 2017, another title was added. Stage III Breast Cancer Patient.
Unlike every other title, this was one I never chose. A former colleague called with a voice I will never forget.
“Mona Lisa … the biopsy didn’t go the way we hoped. You weren’t in the 80%. It is cancer.”
In a single sentence, life divided itself into before and after. It felt as though cancer had discovered the password to my life and stolen my identity.
Suddenly, I wasn’t thinking about tomorrow’s plans—I was wondering how many tomorrows I had left. My husband and I had just purchased our first home. I remember walking through the front door thinking how cruel it seemed to finally receive something you had prayed and worked for, only to wonder whether you would live long enough to enjoy it.
That night, I held my five-year-old daughter as I read her bedtime story. After she drifted off to sleep, I snapped a selfie. I didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me. But I recognized the little girl asleep in my arms. And in that moment, something changed. Fear had spoken first—but it wasn’t going to get the last word.
A warrior stood up inside me. I wasn’t about to let cancer write the final chapter of my story. Yes, cancer threw the first punch. But I made up my mind that it would not throw the last one. No one fights a battle like cancer with determination alone. You need people. You need truth. You need hope.
That is where the American Cancer Society entered my story. During my very first day at the Cancer Center, while everything around me felt overwhelming—the scans, the doctors, the treatment plans, the paperwork—the American Cancer Society was there. They answered questions I didn’t even know to ask. They prepared me for what was ahead. They reminded me that I was not walking into battle by myself. And perhaps the best advice I ever received was simple: “Stay off Google.”
Instead, I learned to trust reliable information. Throughout treatment I leaned on the American Cancer Society for education about nutrition, wigs, research, and practical resources. They replaced fear with facts. Because information doesn’t remove the diagnosis—but it can remove the isolation.
Today, I stand before you eight years cancer-free. Life has come full circle. I have new title. Today I serve as an Oncology Community Health Worker, and now I have the privilege of pointing newly diagnosed patients toward the very organization that once pointed me toward hope. Sometimes I smile because I hear myself repeating those same words: “Stay off Google.”
Years ago, I was the frightened patient wondering whether I would fight alone. Today, I get to tell others that they don’t have to. My story is only one of millions connected to the American Cancer Society. Long before I became a survivor, my family knew the American Cancer Society through my grandfather’s battle with prostate cancer. Whether through groundbreaking research, lifesaving education, patient support, or simply reminding someone they matter, the American Cancer Society does something extraordinary. It shows up when people need hope the most. Every person who hears the words, “You have cancer,” deserves to hear another message just as loudly: “You are not alone.”
Cancer is detectable. Cancer is treatable. Cancer is beatable.
And because of organizations like the American Cancer Society, we get to witness what happens when science, compassion, faith, and community stand together. Cancer may throw punches, but together we deliver the knockout. Thank you for listening, being present, and doing whatever you are doing to save lives, celebrate lives, and helping to lead the fight for a world with more hope than cancer.
Stacey Goodson
I don’t know that any of us ever choose the adversity that finds us. Sometimes it simply arrives.
Cancer certainly did.
Years ago, I watched my dad face cancer with a quiet strength that I didn’t fully appreciate until much later. He didn’t get the ending we all hoped for. Losing him changed me. It reminded me that life can change in an instant , and that tomorrow is never promised. I thought cancer was part of his story. Not mine.
Then, one Sunday evening while doing a breast self-exam, I found a lump. Within days, my life changed forever. There were surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, endless appointments, fear, uncertainty, and moments where I questioned everything I thought I knew about strength.
But somewhere in the middle of surviving, I realized something. Purpose isn’t something you find after adversity. Sometimes purpose is forged inside it.
During those first overwhelming days after my diagnosis, when I didn’t even know what questions to ask, the American Cancer Society became one of the first places I turned. They helped me understand what was ahead. They provided trusted information, resources, and reassurance during one of the most frightening seasons of my life. They reminded me that I wasn’t walking this road alone. As I began to heal, I found myself speaking about my experience, encouraging others to get screened, reminding women to do self-exams, and helping people realize that asking for help isn’t weakness—it’s courage.
I thought maybe cancer had become the hardest chapter of my family’s story. Then my sister was diagnosed. And before we were ready … we lost her. Three cancer journeys. My dad. Me.My sister. Cancer has touched every corner of my family. And yet … here I stand.
Not because the journey was easy. Not because I never wanted to quit. Not because I had all the answers. I’m standing here because people showed up. Researchers. Doctors. Nurses. Friends. Family. Volunteers. And organizations like the American Cancer Society that walk beside people on their hardest days.
You have the opportunity to become one of those people. Someone you’ve never met will hear the words, “You have cancer.” Someone will need answers. Someone will need hope. Someone will need to know they are not alone. You can help make sure those resources are there when they need them.
So, say yes. Take action. Because I’m standing here today because people before you chose to care. Because they chose to invest. Because they believed someone they might never meet was worth fighting for. I am one of those people. Please help make sure the next person has that same chance.
Courtesy of American Cancer Society.
Photos courtesy of Valerie Visser Studios.