Powered by Purpose: This article highlights LuxCare Clothing, a Breastie-owned business that gives back to The Breasties’ mission with every purchase of a Sun Safe “Shine On” hoodie.
The sun has always felt like a paradox. It is life-giving, radiant, essential, and yet, for someone like me, dangerous.
My skin has always been marked by moles, scattered across my body like a star field, each one a little reminder to be careful in the sun. Over the years, they’ve been burned off, frozen, cut away—yet I never truly understood the weight of it.
I’ve spent much of my life chasing shade, carrying a parasol, doing what I could to avoid its burn.
And still, I love it. I love the way it warms my skin when I garden, the way it glitters on water when I swim. The sun is vitality itself. But it also changed the course of my life in ways I never imagined.
When Cancer Found Me
My melanoma didn’t come from the sun. Acral lentiginous melanoma—a rare subtype that makes up only a small percentage of cases—began on the sole of my foot, in a mole that had already been biopsied once before.
Doctors don’t fully understand where it comes from, only that it strikes unexpectedly, often in places untouched by the sun: palms, soles, or under the nails. By the time I had a second biopsy, it had already reached stage 3C. Over three years, it spread from my foot to my abdomen, then my liver, then my lungs, and turned into stage 4.
Hanging on by a Thread
That was the start of my descent. Ten surgeries. Three recurrences. My body filled with over forty pounds of lymphatic fluid until I could barely breathe. It seeped into my abdomen, lungs, even my heart. One night in the ER, I was told I wouldn’t survive another 24 hours without emergency surgery. They drained my heart and placed permanent tubes in my chest and abdomen so I could release the fluid myself, day after day, for seventeen months.
Those side effects stretched on for nearly two more years, long after the cancer itself had been halted. My muscles wasted away. My hair fell out. Immunotherapy stopped the disease, but it nearly stopped me, too.
Although my cancer carried another name, I have been where many of you are, or may fear going. I’ve been to the edge and back again.
And while the sun didn’t cause my melanoma, it changed how I see it forever.
What Illness Taught Me
Coming back from that edge gave me unexpected gifts. Survival gave me empathy I couldn’t have learned any other way. It grounded me in the rawness of the human experience. I know what it feels like to be cracked open, to be vulnerable, to depend on others. That understanding now shapes everything I do.
I also learned to slow down. To notice the way light filters through leaves in my garden. To savor the smallest ordinary moments. To sit in meditation and be present, even when fear still lingers.
The illness forced me to pause, but the pause became a teacher. It showed me what really matters.
During treatment, I began making myself custom garments and even bandages. Those small acts of creation gave me a sense of control in a situation where so much was out of my hands. They made daily life a little easier, a little more comfortable. And in those moments, I realized that clothing could do more than serve as a fashion statement of personal expression. It could help heal the spirit.
Most of all, cancer gave me a deeper sense of purpose. My background as a costume and fashion designer became a way to help others like me: survivors, thrivers, and the newly diagnosed.
I began creating what I now call wellness fashion: clothing designed with thoughtful, functional details that bring dignity and comfort in treatment, but that you’ll also want to keep wearing long after. Beauty and protection, woven together.
Finding Balance With the Sun
Even though my melanoma wasn’t caused by the sun, it reshaped my relationship with it. I learned early to sidestep long hours under the sun. Sunscreen, for decades, felt sticky, toxic, suffocating—so I skipped it whenever I could. That choice left me with sun damage on my chest that I deeply regret. Only in recent years have I found sunscreens that actually feel good: non-toxic, light, and effective.
I share this not to shame anyone, but to acknowledge the truth: the sun is both joy and risk. It’s where many of us go to recharge, to relax, to feel alive. We deserve that.
At the same time, cancer and its treatments can heighten our vulnerability to skin damage and melanoma. Certain treatments can also affect risk. For people with weakened immune systems, whether from chemotherapy or long-term immunosuppressive drugs, studies show melanoma risk is higher. For those of us who have already had melanoma, the risk is especially high; survivors are at a nine-fold increased risk of developing another melanoma, which is why sun safety, follow-up care, and skin checks matter so much.
Protecting yourself, even in small ways, can make a difference. Sometimes that’s sunscreen, sometimes shade, and sometimes clothing that works quietly in the background, so you don’t have to think about it.
A Hug You Can Wear
That’s why I designed the Sun Safe Hoodie. I wanted protection that didn’t feel like a chore, but like comfort. It’s soft and airy, with a hood that shades your face without effort. It’s made from naturally sun-safe fabric—not synthetic, not chemical-dipped—so you don’t have to worry about what’s against your skin. On overcast days, when we often forget sunscreen, it works like a secret weapon. In cooler treatment rooms, under blasting hospital air conditioning, or on summer nights, it doubles as a layer of warmth. It’s one less thing to stress about, one more way to feel cared for.
To me, this hoodie isn’t just clothing. It’s a gesture—a reminder that protection can feel beautiful, easy, even tender. Like a hug you can wear.
Let’s Shine On Together
The hoodie is also part of the Shine On initiative, created in partnership with The Breasties. “Shine On” is about resilience—getting back up when life knocks you down, and letting your light glow brighter for it.
Each screen print is hand-pulled by me, a small dedication to the person who wears it. Ten percent of every sale goes back to The Breasties, to support the very community this was made for.
Protect Your Light
The sun will always be both joy and risk, but protection doesn’t have to feel heavy or clinical. It can feel like care. Wherever you are in your journey, may you find ways to protect your light, and remember: you still shine.
