Five years ago, Michelle Kang was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer at age 27—despite no family history and no genetic markers. Today, she’s not only cancer-free but also helping lead the very campaigns that gave her hope. Read how Walk for Hope became a lifeline during her darkest days—and why she now walks for her past self and the patients still fighting.
Walking for the Life She Fought For
Breast cancer survivor Michelle Kang reflects on her five-year journey, why she walks, and how she’s bringing her story full circle as a new member of City of Hope’s philanthropy team.
Michelle Kang was living the dream in her twenties—thriving in New York City, building her career in healthcare, traveling the world with her fiance. Everything seemed to be falling into place. “My social life, career, love life—it was all going perfectly,” she recalls. “I was living my absolute best life.”
She had just helped build and manage a cancer center, channeling her ambition into a career that gave her purpose. But during a meaningful trip to Korea with her fiancé—a return to their shared cultural roots—everything changed. Michelle found a lump in her breast.
“I think most women in their 20s would’ve brushed it off, but because of the patients I had met and the stories I had heard in my job, I knew not to wait,” she says. While still abroad, Michelle made calls to set up appointments in New York for the day she returned.
At just 27, she was diagnosed with stage 1, hormone-positive breast cancer. Though caught early, it was aggressive and fast-growing. Within weeks, Michelle began the long and painful road of treatment: a double mastectomy, 14 rounds of chemotherapy, reconstructive surgery, physical therapy, and a 10-year hormone therapy protocol that includes monthly injections and a daily pill—treatment that puts her into chemically induced menopause.
“I lost my hair. I lost my breasts. I lost parts of myself I had always identified with as a woman,” Michelle says. “But I also gained something—perspective, purpose, and an understanding that every single day I’m still here is a gift.”
Now 33, Michelle is celebrating five years cancer-free. January 23 marks her “cancerversary,” a day of reflection that brings both gratitude and lingering anxiety. “I’m young, so the risk of recurrence is still high,” she shares. “Some days I feel like I’m in a 50-year-old body, but I remind myself: I’m here. I’m alive. I have dreams I still get to chase.”
One of those dreams is starting a family. Just days after her diagnosis, Michelle’s doctor told her she would need to freeze her eggs before starting treatment. “It was all happening so fast. I couldn’t even process the words ‘you have cancer’ before I was talking about preserving my fertility,” she recalls. Today, she and her fiancé have embryos safely stored in New York, and her treatment plan allows for a pause when she’s ready to pursue pregnancy.
“It’s kind of incredible that science makes that possible,” Michelle says. “And when I think about the research that led to that—Walk for Hope played a part in that. Philanthropy makes things like this available. That’s why I walk.”
Michelle’s Walk for Hope journey began in 2021, her first year as a City of Hope employee. At the time, the event was still virtual, and Michelle participated by hiking Malibu Canyon with a group of friends. “I wasn’t ready to be around reminders of cancer,” she explains. “But I wanted to show up in my own way.”
That’s what makes Walk for Hope so meaningful to her. “You don’t have to walk a certain route or fundraise a certain amount. You get to make it your own,” she says. “Some years, I’ve been a team captain. This year, I started my own team—One for Hope—with a simple ask: just $1.”
The idea came from a desire to remove barriers and make giving more accessible. “I have a lot of ‘breasties’, or breast cancer survivors I’ve met online, who are going through treatment. It feels wrong to ask them for a big donation. But $1? That’s a gateway to learning about City of Hope, to feeling part of something.”
Michelle says she’s watched Walk for Hope grow alongside her own survivorship journey—from a single virtual event to a multi-campus, national movement. “Each year, Walk for Hope has gotten bigger, and so have I,” she says. “I’ve changed, too. I’m stronger. More open. More hopeful.”
She’ll walk in person for the first time this year and is excited to experience the collective energy. “This is the one time of year I look forward to thinking about cancer—because it’s about hope,” she says. “It’s about showing myself how far I’ve come, and doing something for the people who are just starting their fight.”
That includes younger women—especially Asian American women—who may not see their stories reflected often enough. Michelle is Korean American, and she notes that conversations around health and illness can be taboo in some Asian communities. “Culturally, we’re often taught to keep things private. But I believe we need to break that cycle.”
She was the first in her family to be diagnosed with cancer and has no genetic markers or family history. “It was a complete fluke,” she says. “I’ve asked every doctor why this happened, and the answer is always the same: we don’t know yet. That’s why research matters so much.”
Michelle credits a vast support system for getting her through: her family, who flew across the country for every chemo session; her friends, who brought joy and laughter; her fiancé, who stood by her side, even in the darkest moments. But she also names her doctors, therapists, researchers—and even complete strangers—as essential pillars.
“When I was scared, it was the stories of women I had never met that gave me hope,” she says. “That’s why I share mine. I want someone else to read it and believe they can survive, too.”
For Michelle, Walk for Hope is more than a fundraiser – it's a lifeline. “It connects us across time. I walk for the person I used to be, and for the people who will come after me,” she says. “And I walk because I’m still here—and I want to make that count.”Michelle, who recently transitioned into a new role as project manager on City of Hope’s Philanthropy Marketing & Communications team, has been part of the organization since 2021. She previously supported City of Hope as an Operations Program Manager and now brings her personal experience and professional passion to the very campaigns that inspire hope and drive philanthropy.