Survivor Diary: Jenny Saldaña

I was diagnosed on...
"January 4, 2006."

My immediate reaction was...
"I wanted to relive the moments in all of the pictures in my apartment. I was at home and looking at my framed photographs when I was told over the phone that I was sick. It doesn’t normally happen this way, but I was heading out of town."

Now, breast cancer means to me...
"A loss of innocence. It means being inducted into a sorority that I would have never pledged, but am so proud to be a part of. It means that I know medical terms I shouldn't know, and can say words, like nipple, areola, and breast, in polite conversation. It means that I know cancer is not a death sentence, and that I want to spend every waking day trying to help newly diagnosed women realize all these things."

I'd tell someone recently diagnosed with breast cancer that...
"You are not alone. There are so many warrior survivor sisters out there for you to walk with through this journey. Just holler! Also, the dirty little secret about chemo is that you don't have to shave anywhere for a long time."

I'm inspired by...
"Comedy. I'm a comedic writer and finding the humor in my cancer journey is what kept me going. Believe me, there was a lot of funny." [Editor’s Note: Jenny’s play PINK: The Chronicles of BC Jenny won third place in the 2008 National MetLife Latino Playwrighting competition.]

I'm pretty fantastic at...
"Being awesome—and helping newly diagnosed women deal with their new reality."

I get stressed out by...
"Realizing I'm not Oprah; tourists in Times Square—I live in Times Square; the final episode of Seinfeld; not having Tina Fey's career; and the thought that cancer, even though it's gone, now has the home field advantage."

If I were to stand out in the middle of the street and scream something, it would be...
"I love tits!"

Tomorrow will...
"Be one day closer to the day when no one will know what I know about cancer."