Now it just has a deeper, more personal meaning for me, Bortner said.

That’s because, in July 2023, at 29, Bortner’s life changed in ways she never expected.

The month before, although she felt in generally good health, Bortner found herself covered in mosquito bites. What would typically be a mild annoyance was something she would later end up feeling grateful for, because that’s what led her to discover a suspicious lump in her breast.

In July 2023, Bortner was diagnosed with stage 2B triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. 

Navigating a nightmare
Receiving a diagnosis like this at the age of 29 was a pretty surreal feeling. It was a very emotional and spiritual time for me as I navigated that, Bortner said. For weeks, I would wake up and think, Okay, this is truly a nightmare. This isn’t happening. As reality set in, I would slowly be reminded that this, indeed, was my life.

This new reality would be a difficult one to traverse. Because of the aggressive nature of triple-negative breast cancer, approaches to treatment are also aggressive and can take a serious toll on the body before a person can reach remission.

Rather than just a few rounds of chemotherapy or, as Bortner preferred to call them, healing sessions she had to endure 16 rounds over a span of about five-and-a-half months before she could undergo her first surgery.

On cold capping

Breanna Bortner
During the process, she underwent what is known as cold capping, or scalp cooling, which can reduce hair loss during chemotherapy. 

I wore 222 cold caps on my head that were rotated on dry ice and placed on my head at -40 degrees Fahrenheit. I would wear these caps for seven to eight hours at a time on my treatment days to prevent as much hair as possible from falling out due to the powerful chemotherapy drugs, Bortner said.

Pulling a handful of shoulder-length curls from behind her ear, she revealed a layer of shorter strands of hair that landed just slightly below her chin roughly the length her whole head of hair would be, she explained, had she lost all of it during the chemotherapy process.

The other side: Remission
Navigating that chemotherapy process and the subsequent surgeries was anything but a straight and narrow street.

Like many cancer survivors, my journey hasn’t been linear. It’s been filled with lots of ups and downs, of trips to the emergency room, of liver hepatitis, of autoimmune reactions to some of the drugs. And let’s just say that I ended up being a frequent flyer at the emergency room here in town, Bornter laughed.

In March 2024, after undergoing a double mastectomy at Mayo Clinic, Bortner finally received the news from her surgeon she was waiting for: she was cancer free.

To endure what I did over those months, it was kind of like the cherry on top. It was like everything I went through was for a reason, and all of the medicine I received and all the care I received truly saved my life. I’m so grateful for all the experts I had on my side, all the support and love, because I think everything from the prayers to the support and care to the medicine that was created to combat this awful disease all of it had such a huge role in being able to say that I was officially clear of this cancer, Bortner said.

Why serve as PTTP Ambassador?
Navigating her diagnosis was filled with struggles and challenges, but also with meaning and purpose. That’s why Bortner was honored and ready to step up as the 2025 Paint the Town Pink Ambassador: a role that not only puts a face to the myriad events that help raise money for cancer research at The Hormel Institute, but that shows others that thriving after surviving is possible. 

Being Paint the Town Pink Ambassador, for me, is a way to make lemonade out of the lemons that life has given me, Bortner said. It’s an opportunity for me to not only get involved in the local Austin community, but in the greater cancer community as well.

Why should people participate in PTTP?
It’s very cool to see the local Austin community come together. There aren’t many instances in life where you can look around at people at an event and be like, Wow, we’re all really rooting for the same thing, and we’re all on the same team. And that’s exactly what it feels like to be at the Paint the Town Pink events, Bortner said.With something as dark as cancer, the Austin community makes it bright and uplifting. It is amazing what this small town can do.

For Bortner, the Plunging for Pinkevent has always been a personal favorite. This year will be particularly special for her, since it will be her first year attending after reaching remission.That said, after logging 116 hours in cold caps, she doesn’t feel the need to plunge into any frigid waters herself at this point.

I’ve actually never plunged. I hate being cold, but I love to support and be an official hype girl, said Bortner. This year, I will have my second annual Brave Beautiful Boobies plunging team, so I will be there and supporting them as they take the plunge into the freezing cold waters.

Stay brave, stay beautiful
A few months into Bornter’s cancer journey, she created a blog called Brave Beautiful Boobies to share her story. It became a space to express her experience of cancertreatment at a young age, offer education for how loved ones can better support those with cancer, and foster community for others who are enduring cancer themselves. 

She also documented her experiences navigating life after cancer on her TikTok account. 

Brave Beautiful Boobies for me was an outlet. It was a space for me to creatively process everything that I was experiencing in real time. It not only served as a place for friends and family to get updates on my health as I navigated my cancer treatment and multiple surgeries, but it was a place for me to feel like I could support the breast cancer community in a way that resonated with me, Bortner said.

What more people should about know about experiencing cancer
Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of Bortner’s experience of cancer was the loss of a feeling of control over her own body as treatments began and trying to learn to make peace with that. 

Add to that the challenges of enduring the complications from medicines and the feeling of her life stalling as she approached her 30s while her peers were building careers, families, and progressing in their lives in other ways.

When you’re caught in that web for a really long time, it can be really discouraging, but once you make it to the other side, life is pretty amazing, Bortner said. 

For Bortner, one of the less understood aspects of cancer is that the challenges don’t end just because a person has reached remission and the fallback in support a person can experience during this time can feel isolating.

Survivorship is its own beast in many ways, Bortner explained.The support you get throughout your cancer treatment is amazing, but survivorship is also just as difficult. Your life is forever changed. That’s something I want people to be more aware of so they can support the loved ones in their life as they navigate survivorship with a new body, new health conditions, and new fears.

One of the most helpful things people can do for a loved one battling cancer is, rather than asking someone to reach out if they need something, to instead provide detailed examples of how they can offer support, she added.

I think it’s amazing, and people obviously have the biggest hearts, but I want to share that as humans, we generally don’t reach out for help, even when we do need it. If you want to provide support to somebody who’s experiencing cancer, my best piece of advice is to say what you do want to offer, and what you can do for them.

But what kind of support should you offer? Anything and everything from bringing over a favorite meal, driving someone to their treatments, or putting your crafting skills to good use just be specific and intentional. 

The best things you can offer are the things that you’re good at, she said. If you make a really mean lasagna, offer to drop that off. If you are good with talking and driving, maybe you offer to bring them to one of their appointments to help pass the time. And if you’re a crafty person, maybe you can help make a hat or make a blanket to help provide them comfort throughout their treatment.

Instead of leaving the ball in their court when they’re already in such a low energetic state and they’re dealing with so many things, by offering it up and just saying, Hey, I’m going to make you a meal. What day works best? That is the best type of support you can provide to someone who already has a lot on their plate.

Souce : https://hi.umn.edu/news/stay-brave-stay-beautiful-2025-paint-pink-ambassador-breanna-bortner-shares-her-story