Stories Chaunte Lowe is a fighter. The four-time Olympian has competed in Athens in 2004; Beijing in 2008; London in 2012; and Rio in 2016. She’s the indoor and outdoor American record holder in the women’s high jump. Her life changed in June 2019 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The wife and mother to three kids – ages 12, 8 and 6 – told her family the lump she was worried about was cancer. While they fell to the floor in tears at the news, Lowe said she knew she had to fight. “I had to make a decision: I could curl up into a ball, and I can let this thing take me out. Or I can decide that I’m going to fight, and I’m going to fight for each and every one of them. I decided that I was going to fight,” Lowe recalls. Lowe is currently going through treatment for triple negative breast cancer, a very aggressive form of the disease that is often treated with a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Black women are in the U.S. often diagnosed younger and with more aggressive breast cancers than white women. They are also 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women, in part because they are often diagnosed with breast cancer at later stages when treatments are limited, costly and the prognosis is poor. “I wish that somebody would’ve told me about my risk,” she says. “At [the time of my diagnosis], I felt like it was my personal responsibility to share everything that I had learned about battle, fighting, perseverance, overcoming obstacles, endurance, that it was my responsibility to teach other women this.” Lowe has not let her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment slow her down. She’s currently training for her fifth Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. “I am training, and I have trained through chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and treatment for breast cancer,” Lowe says. “I know that through it, I can bring a lot of attention to this cause and I know that it will help us eradicate this disease that has ravaged so many of us.” Lowe hopes to use her platform to fight these disparities that women like her face, and to help end breast cancer forever. “My ultimate wish for the future is that we completely obliterate the statistic that one in eight women in their lifetime will be diagnosed with breast cancer. My goal, my dream, and my vision is that my daughter, my son’s wife, my mother, my cousins, will never have to face a diagnosis of breast cancer, I want it to end with us, end with this generation.” << Previous Post Power Lines, Pesticides and Breast... Komen Blog Read More Next Post >> Working to Save the 42,000... Komen Blog Read More Related Stories Previous Next Komen Blog Komen’s 2021-2022 Advocacy Priorities Seek... Read More Komen Blog Tips for Living a Healthy... Read More Komen Blog Breast Cancer, No Longer Your... Read More Komen Blog When Pink is Just Another... Read More Komen Blog The Moment That Changed Everything Read More Komen Blog Experiencing Breast Cancer As a... Read More Komen Blog Jennifer and Angelo Merendino Used... Read More Komen Blog Social Justice Is An Issue... Read More Komen Blog Leading the Fight Against Metastatic... Read More Komen Blog In Case You Missed It... Read More Komen Blog A Small Lump Is Still... Read More Komen Blog I Might Be At Risk,... Read More Komen Blog 8 Questions to Ask Your... Read More Komen Blog I Help Others Heal But... Read More Amanda DeBard In Case You Missed It:... Read More Komen Blog Saving Lives Means Conquering Metastatic... Read More Komen Blog Looking Back, I See My... Read More Komen Blog Komen’s 2021-2022 Advocacy Priorities Seek... Read More Komen Blog Tips for Living a Healthy... Read More Komen Blog Breast Cancer, No Longer Your... Read More Komen Blog When Pink is Just Another... Read More Komen Blog The Moment That Changed Everything Read More Komen Blog Experiencing Breast Cancer As a... Read More Komen Blog Jennifer and Angelo Merendino Used... Read More Komen Blog Social Justice Is An Issue... Read More Komen Blog Susan G. Komen’s Helpline Offering... Read More Komen Blog Patient Perspective: What Should You... Read More Komen Blog Chaunte Lowe Knows How to... Read More Komen Blog FDA’s New Guidance Recommends Including... Read More Komen Blog My Mom Brings a Flash... Read More Komen Blog You’re Not Alone; Susan G.... Read More Komen Blog Answering Questions About Soy and... Read More Komen Blog Everyone Can Take Action on... Read More Komen Blog Fighting Breast Cancer Together: A... Read More JOIN US TODAY! JOIN