Cape Fear Chapters: The Year I Wore Pink: 25+ Years Beyond Breast Cancer

Wilmington, NC (WWAY) — More than 25 years after being diagnosed with breast cancer, a Wilmington-area author is sharing her experience and the life she has built since in a new memoir.

Sonya Ruff Jarvis joined WWAY’s Cape Fear Chapters to discuss her book, The Year I Wore Pink: 25+ Years Beyond Breast Cancer.

The memoir explores her diagnosis, treatment and the more than two decades that followed.

Jarvis was 37 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 while living in New York City.

At the time, she was building her career, maintaining an active lifestyle and had recently purchased her first apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Jarvis said during the interview.

Jarvis said she regularly ran in Central Park, went to the gym after work and maintained a healthy lifestyle. She also said she had no family history of breast cancer.

Her diagnosis came as a surprise, prompting her to reflect on how quickly life could change.

Jarvis said she initially struggled with the idea of revisiting her diagnosis and treatment, but a conversation with another breast cancer survivor helped change her perspective.

Last year, she met a woman who had recently completed treatment and was beginning to regrow her hair. The woman, who had two young children, told Jarvis she hoped to reach the same stage of survivorship.

“She looked at me, and she said, ‘I wanna be where you’re at.'”

Jarvis said that conversation helped her recognize the importance of sharing what life can look like years after treatment.

“So I really wanted to share the possibilities of looking at somebody over a two and a half decades out and seeing the future,” Jarvis said.

The memoir also includes personal journal entries Jarvis wrote during her cancer experience.

She said revisiting those entries was emotionally difficult, particularly because they captured her thoughts and feelings during treatment.

“I mean, I journaled during this time,” Jarvis said. “So in the book you’ll see some raw, unedited journal entries that was really hard for me to read.”

Jarvis hopes her story offers perspective to people facing breast cancer and those adjusting to life after treatment.

The Year I Wore Pink: 25+ Years Beyond Breast Cancer is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads.

Jarvis said signed copies can also be purchased through her website, jarvisconsultants.com.

The book’s release coincides with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, observed each October.