St. Andrews Author Rhiannon Huzarewich has published her first book, Discovering the Positives.
Huzarewich takes readers through her journey with triple negative breast cancer — a July 2022 diagnosis that changed her life.
“My diagnosis taught me to push and be an advocate for yourself,” she said. “You know your body best and you should know to trust your gut when something doesn’t feel right.”
Her journey wasn’t smooth sailing. She moved from appointment to appointment and specialist to specialist, with most medical professionals believing a lump she found in her breast was nothing serious. But because she continued to advocate for herself, and her medical team kept sending her for tests, she ended up with a life-changing diagnosis just a few weeks later — triple negative breast cancer.
“I got the call while I was at work and I was completely floored. I was shaking, I couldn’t think straight … I was in complete shock. I was about to go out for lunch with a group of friends, but instead I just closed my door and bawled.”
She later spoke with her husband, two pre-teen daughters and her boss before going home to process what she had been told. “There was just so much going through my head. It’s one thing to suspect it, but a whole other thing to know it. If any of these people (her diagnostic team) completely dismissed me, I probably wouldn’t be here today and that is scary to think.”
Huzarewich underwent six months of weekly chemotherapy before having a double mastectomy and breast implant surgery. Following that, she completed six weeks of daily radiation, monthly immunotherapy, six months of chemotherapy pills and attended countless medical appointments.
“You hit the ground running once you receive your diagnosis because now you are getting scan after scan and appointment after appointment, because through this all the oncology team — composed of a surgical oncologist, medical oncologist and radiation oncologist — want to ensure everything else in your body is working the way it should.”
In total, she had about two years of treatment. As of fall 2024, she has been released from CancerCare. That milestone led her into a new chapter of her life — becoming a novelist.
She had already published numerous scientific documents, but writing about her personal journey was new territory.
“It feels so surreal to have published this book,” she said. “The whole journey feels like a nightmare and now I’m on the other side of that dark tunnel. I love helping people — it’s my calling. I want to show people that when you’re in these dark times and when you feel like there is no hope — there is always light at the end of the tunnel. When you are going on the uphill battle, you will eventually get to that top and it does get better. If someone picks up the book and feels that sense of hope and positivity they will get through this — I know this will have been worth it to me.”
Throughout her treatments, she kept a journal and jotted down the good things she was experiencing despite the circumstances. “I truly don’t think I would have ever realized the small things that are important in life if I never went through this,” she added.
She transformed her journal into an 88-page book after her hairdresser suggested she write one. The cover features a butterfly — a special tribute to a close friend.
“She (the friend) told me, ‘I know right now you feel like this is a gooey mess, but think about butterflies. When they are in their cocoon it is gooey and gross, but as time moves on they morph into these beautiful butterflies afterwards.’ This stuck with me as I couldn’t wait to get to the butterfly stage of this all.”
Up next for Huzarewich is checking more items off her vision board — something she created during treatment.
“I am always up for a new adventure and I’m just excited to explore the world with my family to add that spark back into my life. I’ve learned that life is so fragile and can be taken away at any moment which is why I want to take a jump at these things.”
Discovering the Positives is available for purchase through sellers linked at: https://linktr.ee/rhiannonhuzarewich
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