‘I just had chemo a few days before … I didn’t feel the best, but I still was able to push myself and be there and tap. I never let cancer stop me from doing what I love.’

Dix Hills

“Being diagnosed has never stopped me from wanting to dance. It pushed me to continue with something that I love. I’m very passionate about dancing, I’m passionate about expressing myself. I love performing with other women, the camaraderie, just the whole experience.

“I remember in 2017, when I was diagnosed, I just had chemo a few days before and I wasn’t sure if I should go, and I went. I didn’t feel the best, but I still was able to push myself and be there and tap. I never let cancer stop me from doing what I love.

“I thought it was very healthy. I was apprenticing with the Red Hot Mamas, a dance company, but I couldn’t start right away because I had to have my port removed, and I kept on emailing them, saying I would be there, but I had to have surgery. I didn’t want it to stop me from pursuing my Red Hot Mama career, and they welcomed me with open arms when I was able to come back.

“The Red Hot Mamas brought back the memories of performing when I was a child. I used to dance, I used to even teach dance to young children. To be able to perform and be with this wonderful group of women, we lean on each other, we support one another, and it gives me the opportunity to shine. I like shining, I like performing, I like to be the star. It brings me such joy and happiness, to be able to do that in nursing homes and to give back.

“I remember we were in a nursing home and someone came up to us and said, ‘Were you Rockettes? You were so phenomenal.’ He asked for our autograph. To them, we are Broadway stars. I remember my first show when I went back, I was at the Northport library and I invited my whole family to come see me because I was back dancing, I was back performing, I was back to where I was.

“It was very emotional for me; I made a whole bunch of mistakes. It was just being back on stage and putting cancer behind me and shining and doing what I love. It was a very emotional day for me, to be able to dance again and live and celebrate life.”

I never questioned ‘Why me?’ Maybe I was chosen to have cancer so I can help others and guide others through their journey.

“Five years ago, when I was diagnosed, I heard those three horrible words: ‘You have cancer.’ That’s when my world turned upside down. But I never let it push me to a place that I would lose my spirit or my energy or my positivity. I’m a very positive person. There were moments when I cried, and there were moments when I was sad. I never questioned, why me? Maybe I was chosen to have cancer so I can help others and guide others through their journey by mentoring, by listening to other women, providing support, giving an ear to listen to and letting them know they’re not alone.

“You hear so many things about other cancers, but you really don’t hear about ovarian cancer, called the silent killer because it whispers a storm is coming. And it was a storm, but I went through my journey skipping. When I rang that bell signifying the end of my chemotherapy, I skipped through the office, I was jumping up and down, hugging everybody, wearing my teal tutu. I did it.

“The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition [NOCC] is an organization proving care for women and their families and their caregivers. We provide comfort of the mind, comfort of the sou. We give food, we provide financial assistance to women going through chemotherapy, we provide educational awareness.

“My mission in working with women who are newly diagnosed is to give them hope so that they know they are not alone, that there is someone who understands what they’re going through.

“Many people may have a friend who will listen, but they don’t get the neuropathy, they don’t get the extreme fatigue. No one else understands until you’ve been through that journey.

“The newly diagnosed need to hear all that. We discuss all that, the emotional component of it. There are a lot of women who are alone, a lot of women who are single mothers, different women throughout their chapter. Ovarian cancer is not an ‘older women’ disease; we’ve had women in their 20s.

“This is what NOOC does. We continue giving support, we continue giving them an ear to listen to. And knowing they’re not alone and we’re here for them, that’s really key. I want to give them inspiration. I want to let them know that any question they may have, it may be silly to somebody else, but to them it’s important. I want them to know that any question or remark, it’s valued.”

Interviewed by Barbara Schuler

‘The doctors said I had a chromosome disorder, and I wouldn’t be able to walk or talk. Somehow, I proved them wrong.’

Dix Hills

“I was born with a rare chromosome disorder called chromosome 18q deletion. It occurs when the long arm (q) of chromosome 18 is missing. Some of the features are low muscle tone and hearing loss. I was also born with clubfoot, which is a deformed foot that is twisted so the sole cannot be placed flat on the ground. They found out I had clubfoot during an ultrasound when I was in my mom’s stomach.

“When I was 3 months old, my face was pale, and I had to go to the emergency room. They did blood tests and said that everything was fine and to go home. My mom insisted that there was something wrong – and she was right.

If everyone looked the same, the world would be so boring.

“When I was 2 years old, I got help from my mom’s best friend to help me talk. I’ve had 12 surgeries: Five of them were because of my clubfoot. I used to wear hearing aids when I was 5 years old. When I was in seventh grade, I was getting my bat mitzvah invitations, and after we got them, I started mumbling words, had numbness in my arm, and I couldn’t walk straight. I went to the hospital, and they found out I had migraines. I’ve had to do occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech classes.

“Going into high school was a real struggle for me; I have a learning disability, so some of the work was very hard. But in 2020, I graduated with a Regents diploma. I went to the College of Mount Saint Vincent bridge program for two years, and I did a lot during my time there: I was the social media coordinator for Best Buddies, I was the director of communications for the club’s activities board, I sang at two shows, and I was also a model for a club I was in.

“One big achievement is my Instagram account, @disabilitiesunite, which I founded so people with disabilities can find friends just like them. My parents always used to tell me that everyone is different. If everyone looked the same, the world would be so boring. When I was in fourth grade, I had to write a sentence with the word “unique.” My mom helped me, and I wrote, ‘I am Sydney and I am unique.’ Now, if ever I feel different and I’m not happy with myself, I always think of that sentence.”

Interviewed by Hannah Fusaro

‘I always felt like I had a forest fire chasing me with the cancer.’

Dix Hills

“I lost most of my family to cancer. I lost my brother to brain cancer and my father to CJD, the human form of mad cow. My brother meant the world to me. He died in three months. When he lost his voice to brain cancer, we spoke through each other’s eyes. A few years after that, my father contracted CJD, which is just the most horrible death. Watching somebody die of that is hell on earth.

“I missed one year of a mammography. When I went, the doctor said to me, ‘this is really bad, you need to go to your breast surgeon and get this looked at right away.’ They made an appointment for me to have surgery and we did a double mastectomy. Thank God I did that. No tests showed on my left side I had a tumor. If I would have done one side, years from now it could have been cancer.

“My daughter, during the pandemic, was getting her appendix out. And then we got a call that her appendix was cancer. I was devastated. I couldn’t even breathe. They had to remove part of her colon. She had to go on chemo for six months. I was trying to heal from my breast surgeries and my daughter needed help. I had to watch my four grandchildren. We would go for walks, picnics. I really had faith in God that my daughter was going to be stronger.

“After my brother passed, I learned so much about how life can be taken from you so quickly. In his memory, I wanted to share all the resources I had learned so my husband and I created the Guardian Brain Foundation. We provide direct support services to patients with brain cancer, brain injuries and brain tumors.

I used to always say, at the end of each day, find one good memory, no matter how bad your day was.

“When I come into horrifying or stressful situations, I just reach down and tell myself you have two choices, either you could fall apart, or you could be strong and fight this. If you fall apart, you’re going to get sicker. You have to think positive. I used to always say, at the end of each day, find one good memory, no matter how bad your day was. Now I say, ‘find three good memories at the end of each day.’ Somedays it’s not easy. But it helps.

“I always felt like I had a forest fire chasing me with the cancer. It was like a fear that always came over me. I knew that one day it was going to hit me. And it did. But I beat it.”

Interviewed by Betsy Abraham