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In a social media post, pro snowboarder Kimmy Fasani recently announced that she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer. Fasani says that the diagnosis has shifted her life 180 degrees and that she and husband Chris Benchetler are working through the details and treatment options. She says she shared the news to encourage other women to pay attention to the signs.
“Three weeks ago I heard the words I never expected to hear… You have breast cancer,” she wrote.
Fasani, considered a pioneer in women’s snowboarding, especially in backcountry freestyle (she won a Rider of the Year award in 2017), says she noticed a bump on her right breast while feeding her youngest son, Zeppelin. She equated it to clogged ducts, which she’d suffered after her son was born. “Three weeks ago as I was doing a self breast exam,” she wrote. “I felt a pea-sized bump under my right arm, so I decided to call my doctor. Thankfully she sensed my urgency and got me in the next day.”
In a story on her Instagram page, Fasani thanked the snowboarding and outdoor community for the support. Her post has garnered well over a 1,000 comments. “Though this process is emotional and personal, I want to share this journey in hopes of bringing more awareness to the benefits of self checks, being aware of our bodies, and making the process of coping through breast cancer more transparent,” she said. “I have a huge mountain to climb but I have the tools, support, and mentality to overcome all that’s to come.”
The Inertia is wishing Kimmy, Chris, Koa, and Zeppelin all the best during this challenging time.
