Two Moms on Parenting Through Stage 4 Breast Cancer

Jess Fioretti and Deltra James have a few things in common. Both are moms — and both are living with stage four metastatic breast cancer (mBC). They know all too well the ups and downs that come with hair loss, surgery, and advocacy, but also the challenges of parenting tweens and teens.

“In the past seven years, I’ve lived so much life,” James tells SheKnows, in a sitdown conversation with Fioretti. “I’ve moved. I’ve gotten my own place. I’ve fell in love again. I’ve put my girls in school. I’ve watched kids graduate. I’ve become a grandma. So much life has happened since I was told that I was dying.”

James left an unhappy marriage after she was diagnosed with mBC at just 33 years old. For her, parenting her five girls through her diagnosis means being able to live her best life and do the things that bring her joy, despite the difficult situations.

Fioretti knows what that’s like. She also knows that her daughters have learned a thing or two from her own cancer journey. One of those lessons? “In a challenging time, we can still live our lives,” Fioretti says. “Life throws us different things all the time: cancer, relationships, grieving, losing parents…. We have the ability to be resilient.”

To hear more of Jess and Deltra’s conversation — from how their diagnosis changed the way they parent to the advice they’d give to the newly diagnosed — watch the full video above.

Content was independently created by SHE Media with funding from Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

For US audiences only.