Jennifer Willey is a pretty 28-year old with a twinkle in her eye and a love of shopping and dancing. She's a much-loved daughter, friend and mum to an adorable potbellied pig named Willa. She's also embedded in a battle with Hodgkin's disease -- a battle she's been fighting since she was diagnosed in 2005. I found Jennifer's website through Alese Coco's Fight 2 Win site, and though Alese has tragically lost her battle, Jennifer is still fighting just as valiantly, and is just as determined that she will conquer cancer. I've never met her in person, but Jennifer has truly inspired me with her graciousness and her spirit. She is a survivor.

Unfortunately, Jennifer was not able to compile her thoughts for the Survivor Spotlight feature, as she's recently been admitted to the hospital. The answers below are snippets from her website:

On finding out she had cancer:

The year of 2004 came and went by so quickly. I was working full-time in human resources, was planning my wedding, and around two hours a day was spent commuting back and forth to work. I was running on adrenaline. I was tired most days, but figured it was from all the stress. My big day was October 9, 2004. It was a gorgeous day, everything turned out perfect. Soon after I noticed I was itching quite frequently, mainly on my legs. I also started having sweats. It was just about winter time, and each night I would wake up soaked. Chris thought I was losing my mind. I began to question it myself ...

Ruth is a vivacious, energetic woman in her 70s who is active in the community. I've met her a few times and had the privilege to discuss her cancer story with her.

How did you discover that you had breast cancer? What types of treatment were recommended?
During a routine check-up, my doctor discovered a lump. He suggested a lumpectomy, but I spoke with a number of other physicians, including my brother, and they all recommended getting a full mastectomy to ensure that I wouldn't have a re-occurrence. After the surgery, the lump was examined and it was found to be highly unusual. Though it's not certain that the cancer would have come back, I don't regret getting a full mastectomy, and will recommend the same to my daughters if they develop breast cancer too. I know many women who only had a lumpectomy, and several of them have had a re-occurrence. Sadly, some of them are no longer with us.

Lisa was only 27 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She agreed to do a Survivor Spotlight. I was thrilled because she is a long term survivor of metastatic breast cancer. We need to hear more positive stories about women living with mets, instead of sticking our head in the sand and just listening to all the hype on television about how breast cancer is so easily cured.

What about the women who can't just go on with their normal lives because they have been diagnosed with a recurrence? -- a disease that will probably keep them on some sort of treatment for the rest of their lives. It would be better if the treatments had no side effects but we know that is not the case for many of the treatments available. Lisa has had many challenges in the last nine years. Here is her story.

How did you find out you had breast cancer?

I was doing regular monthly self exams and found a pea-sized lump in my right breast. I was only 27, but I took it seriously. I went to a doctor and she sent me for a mammogram. Due to my age and no family history of breast cancer my doctor and I didn't suspect the mammogram would be anything out of the norm. However, the results showed microcalcifications in the right breast. I then had an excisional biopsy that concluded it was indeed breast cancer. I had a 1.1cm tumor with 2/6 nodes positive with micrometastases. ER+/PR+ and Her2Neu+.

I was privileged to be able to interview Tom Batiuk himself, the creator of Funky Winkerbean, both about his own experiences with cancer and also his strip. I have received many many comments about the post I did regarding Lisa's cancer story in Funky Winkerbean, and I have addressed the concerns of the commenters to Mr. Batiuk, and he has responded for us here.

Jen: Obviously, you are a cancer survivor. Did you decide to have one of your characters have cancer largely to explore you own experiences further, to raise awareness about the experience of cancer, or did Lisa's cancer occur more organically? Or is there something else?

Tom Batiuk: There are so many conscious and unconscious elements in the creative process that sometimes it's impossible to untangle them all. My own experience showed me that there was still much more to be examined regarding this subject. This time when I reached inside, I was able to draw from the pieces of me that felt that scared, that angry and that powerless. The insights were deeper and more hard won. I also realized that revisiting Lisa's Story would push my characters to new extremes and reveal what kind of character my characters really had.

I did a post back in August of last year about my friend Larissa's journey through breast cancer. Larissa was just recently diagnosed with cancer again. This time it was skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma.

I asked Larissa if she would talk about her experience and how it felt to be diagnosed with cancer yet again. Larissa blogs at Welcome to the Dallehouse.

How did you find out you had skin cancer?

I had a red patch on my face that didn't go away for several months. I kept an eye on it and noticed it was getting larger so I made an appointment with a dermatologist. The dermatologist thought it looked suspicious and did a shave biopsy. The biopsy came back positive for basal cell carcinoma.

I met Melissa on the Young Survival Coalition website. She agreed to give her time to write about her breast cancer journey and offer advice that can help others going down the same road.

Melissa was only 29 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She blogs at To Keep You, A Breast that chronicles her journey.

How did you find out you had breast cancer?

I received my diagnosis while sitting in Friday evening rush hour traffic. Fortunately, it was gridlock so I had a few minutes to collect myself before I actually had to drive. About six weeks prior, I had found a lump in my right breast while in the shower. I originally thought it was just a knot in the muscle because I had been working out a lot and my muscle was sore. When the muscle pain went away and the lump was still there, I made an appointment with my primary care physician. She examined me and sent me for a mammogram and ultrasound. The day of the mammogram was the first time I was actually concerned that it might be something serious because they kept wanting to take more images and everyone was being extremely nice. I could tell during the ultrasound that the radiologist was really concerned. She told me to expect a call from my PCP that afternoon and that I needed a biopsy. They were able to make an appointment for the biopsy while I was there, but the date was almost two whole weeks away.

By the time of the biopsy, I was again sure there was nothing to worry about. While the radiologist did an ultrasound of the lump before the procedure, he told me he thought I should have an MRI because he suspected there might be a couple of lumps clustered together. That was when I hit full panic mode. During the procedure, which was on a Tuesday, he told me I would have the results by Thursday or Friday. By Friday at 3:00 pm, I was starting to get very anxious and called my PCP's office to see if they had the results. One of the nurses, who had been by me throughout the process told me they didn't have them yet but she would call and try to get them. She knew I was a nervous wreck and couldn't wait all weekend to find out. It was about 5:30 by the time she called back with the news that no one wants to hear. "Melissa, I'm sorry, but you have breast cancer."

I found David's website while researching about Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of brain tumor. I found his website to be very inspiring. My uncle died of GBM twenty years ago this coming holiday season. David is an 11 year survivor this year! You can visit David's website at www.davidmbailey.com.

How did you find out you had cancer?

I started getting these really bad headaches. One morning, I fell over and felt nauseous. My wife called 911 and I remember getting in the ambulance thinking it was silly. I had a small seizure in the ambulance and when we got to the ER, I had a major grand-mal seizure. They did a quick cat-scan and saw a large mass in my head so they put me on a helicopter and flew me to a bigger hospital where they operated the next morning to remove the baseball size tumor in my brain. The pathology came back with the bad news -- grade 4 glioblasoma multiform (GBM) Prognosis, 6 months to live.

What types of cancer treatments were recommended?

I originally saw a general oncologist who had one clinical trial to offer but it was a randomized study, meaning a computer would pick if I got the treatment. I thought that was stupid. Then he gave me the best advice possible -- he told me to see a NEURO oncologist -- someone who specialized in heads.

I have known my friend Claire for years (she asked that her last name not be used). So, I remember the shock I felt three years ago when I found out that she had breast cancer. Malignant breast cancer, we whispered to ourselves. Claire had been teaching English for Dole Fruit in Honduras. She came home that summer, and she never went back, even though she had another year left in her contract. Even though we have talked about her experiences over the years, we had never done so formally before she agreed to talk to me for this Survivor Spotlight. She came over and I poured her coffee (black) and we went out back to my studio/office to chat.

How did you find out you had breast cancer?

I went in for a routine mammogram. I had been having mammograms for about the past ten years or so. But I missed the previous year! So, after I found out that I had cancer, I was mortified that I had forgotten the previous year. But actually, I had a benign cyst years earlier, when I was younger and hadn't gone through as much. That was actually much scarier.

How did you find out it was malignant?

Needle biopsy. But I had warning -- the radiologist was pretty sure it was bad, so he gave me warning. The biopsy was just to make sure.

A little crazy, a lot loud, always happy. That describes Renee. You will recognize her easily. She is the beautiful blond with the tattoos and piercings whose infectious laughter you can hear miles away. Diagnosed in 2000 at age 23 with Thyroid Cancer, she is a survivor of five recurrences and single mom of a six year old daughter. She teaches everybody that knows her about her motto: "Just keep swimming!"

Knowing Renee has taught me that we can all face life's challenges if we face it with humor and honesty.

How did you find out you had cancer?

During my second prenatal visit while pregnant with my daughter, my doctor found a lump in my neck. She sent me for an ultrasound and on February 4, 2000, I was told that I had cancer. It was papillary cancer of the thyroid. I know that now, but at the time I just heard -- Cancer.

Katie is a member of the Young Survival Coalition. She agreed to do an interview about her breast cancer journey. She blogs here, when I just checked her blog she had a funny post to share about how her cleaning lady likes to party.

"i left an ativan on the bookcase last week.
she put it in the candy bowl."

How did you find out you had breast cancer?
In November 2006, I had an excisional biopsy to remove what I had been told was a fibroadenoma. A few days after the surgery I went back to the surgeon to have some stitches removed. At the time I was so convinced it was benign that I didn't think to be nervous about getting the results of the pathology report. When my surgeon told me it was cancer, I didn't get upset. I just really had no idea what "cancer" meant, as it was nothing I had ever thought about happening to me. I spent the rest of the day in shock - I didn't even cry. Incidentally, it was the same day as my nine-year anniversary with my husband. We ate a very expensive dinner in complete silence.

Alese was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease when she was seventeen years old. This was back in November of 2001 and Alese has been fighting this disease on and off since that time.

After her initial treatment of the standard chemotherapy regimen for Hodgkin's, Alese had her first recurrence after only four months. Alese then received a stem cell transplant in December of 2002 and she was cancer free for two years. On November 18, 2004 it was found that Alese had another recurrence of Hodgkin's.

I have been reading Alese's journal on her blog called Alese Coco Fight 2 Win. She is a courageous young women. You can read her story here, it is very inspirational.

It has been a scary weekend since Alese's family were told that they might have to start making 'end of life' decisions. Alese was having many complications from her disease that it was threatening to take her life. Thankfully, it seems things are looking better this morning. Check out her journal and if you like leave an encouraging message!

How do you title this?

That is how Sasha titled her post on May 9, 2006. She was diagnosed with breast cancer on May 4th. Sasha lives in Alaska and blogs Sasha's Window. She is an amazing girl and I'm really glad that I've gotten to know her. Maybe I'll visit her someday! To find out updates about Sasha visit her webpage.

Here is Sasha's first post telling about her diagnoses of breast cancer:

How do you title this?