Photo courtesy of Holly Bertone

Wednesday Oct. 9, the Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being opened its doors to bestselling author, speaker, breast cancer and autoimmune disease survivor and Elizabethtown College alumnus Holly Bertone. In turn, Bertone opened her heart and shared stories about her career, family and health struggles.

As a former Etown student, Bertone had plenty of stories from her time as a psychology and business administration major and even shared extraordinary experiences from working for the FBI. Implicit in these stories, and in Bertone’s mindset at the time, was that she was indestructible.

“I thought to myself, ‘Only grandmas get breast cancer. Young people do not get breast cancer,’” she said. Unfortunately, breast cancer didn’t share that sentiment.

Bertone was diagnosed with breast cancer at seemingly the peak of her physical health: she was doing off-road triathalons, racing on the Marine Corps mountain bike team and living with her boyfriend and his son when she found out that she had cancer. Two days after her diagnosis, her boyfriend proposed to her, and she accepted.

“We weren’t talking about honeymoons and wedding invitation colors. We were talking about cancer and chemo,” Bertone said.

Despite the serious content of her talk, Bertone created a loose and easy conversation, with few moments of solemnity. One such instance was when Bertone took a few moments to emphasize the importance of taking care of your body to the women in the room.

“Do your self-exams and learn your boobs! If something feels off, go to your doctor. Do not take no for an answer. You only get one chance to live,” she said.

The urgency of this statement took some attendees by surprise, including sophomore Ashley Mooney.

“Even though I am young, it could happen to me,” she said. “She emphasized that younger adults tend to think they are invincible, but they are not.”

Despite the adversity she has faced throughout her life, Bertone said that she views breast cancer as a gift. She recalled a moment in which she and her fiancé were cutting her chemo-thinned hair, and he told her that she looked like a “dog with mange.”

“I wanted to punch him, but then I just laughed,” she said. It was moments like that, she said, in which breast cancer allowed her and her loved ones to grow closer.

“We got to a point where we could joke about it. You can be a victim, or you can laugh. Cancer isn’t funny, but why not laugh? It feels a whole lot better,” she said.

Cancer also gave Bertone new ways to reach out to other women to let them know that they weren’t alone. As a self-described “super-crazy introvert,” she remembered one moment that helped her realize her capabilties as a survivor.

“I was sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room, and something came over me that I turned to the girl sitting next to me and said, ‘Hi, I’m Holly, and I have breast cancer,’ which is something I never imagined myself doing,” she said. “It was moments like these that made me realize that I can give other people hope that they can get through this, too.”

After her treatment ended, Bertone still felt ill. After numerous doctor’s appointments, she was finally diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease.

“I learned about nutrition and lifestyle choices that can make a huge difference. I cut out gluten, sugar, processed foods and dairy, and [I] felt immediately better,” Bertone said.

After making these changes, she started the health and wellness website Pink Fortitude and wrote an Amazon best-selling book titled “Thriving in the Workplace with an Autoimmune Disease: Know Your Rights, Resolve Conflict, and Reduce Stress.”

But it wasn’t just focusing on physical wellness that made the difference. Bertone stressed the importance of respecting not only your body but your mind as well.

“Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a child, an elderly person or a member of the clergy – kindly, with respect,” she said. “Practice gratitude. You are going to have problems, but that’s life, and life is beautiful.”