The Survivor Series: #1 Tiffany Dyba
STUPID CANCER’S INTERVIEW WITH TIFFANY DYBA (aka c.d.r.e.a.m.)
SC: Tell us your name and where you are from:
TB: Tiffany Dyba, New York, NY
SC: Tell us about yourself. What do you do for a living or what do you want to do?
TB: I left the corporate world behind a little over a year ago. I started my own career coaching and consulting business. I have a background in recruitment, and have always wanted to help other people find fulfillment and rewarding careers.
SC: Are you a patient, survivor or caregiver (or combination)?
TB: I hesitate to say survivor because sometimes I feel like that jinxes me. I am a thriver. My treatment ended in December 2018.
SC: Tell us your story:
TB: I was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer in March 2018. I was 35 at the time. My life was turned upside down immediately. The first thing I did was google resources or try to find blogs of other women my age that could help me make sense of it. I couldn’t find anything. I decided that I wanted to start my own blog and Instagram to connect with other young women in the same boat and build a community. The info online is scary, and it should be supportive. Factual, but supportive. I had my double mastectomy last year. I went through 8 rounds of chemo and 5 weeks of radiation. I wrapped all of that up at the end of 2018. I recently just had my implant exchange surgery and am hoping that I can put a pin in this chapter and move on — but survivorship is not as easy as it should be.
SC: What is the biggest lesson you have learned through this experience?
TB: To be kind to myself. To be patient with myself.
SC: What would you like to say to someone going through what you have gone through or are going through?
TB: Cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence. It can be quite the opposite actually. I have been through hell, but ironically I have never been happier. I am living my life the way I want. I am saying yes to the things I want, and no to the things I don’t want. It is a beautiful thing.
SC: What do you do that brings you most comfort and joy?
TB: I really enjoy quiet nights at home with my husband and dog. Cooking dinner and watching a great film, and planning our next trip.
SC: What motivates you to keep going, smiling, fighting?
TB: My community. Meeting others with different struggles. Some worse than mine, but we are all in this together and we are all doing our thing. It is pretty incredible.
SC: Any music, movies, books, art that have inspired you during your journey?
TB: HA! Hip Hop music is everything to me, and a big part of my life. If you visit my Instagram you will see how I used hip hop a lot throughout my treatment. I find music to be so healing and cathartic for me.
SC: Do you have a favorite quote, mantra or saying that has helped you during your journey?
TB: “Everybody dies, but not everybody lives.” I heard it in a Drake song once and it always resonated with me.
Everyone at Stupid Cancer would like to extend a big outrageous thank you to Tiffany for sharing her story with us and the community.
Follower her on instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/c.d.r.e.a.m/
Together we are ending isolation and building community for those impacted by cancer.
