I'm still working through understanding what is all happening in my body and how my current treatment works. - Kendra

I’m a 38-year-old high school science teacher and golf coach, and also the daughter, wife, friend, and cat-mom to Bogey and Birdie. In 2025 I was diagnosed with stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer with brain metastases, after I developed unexpected blood clots in my lungs.

I adore what I do: teaching students, coaching athletes, being outdoors, playing golf, crafting, watching sports, and spending time with my husband and family. My goal since diagnosis has been simple: keep as much of a “normal” life as possible. Do the things I love. Laugh. Create. Connect. One day at a time.

Behind me is a strong team of people who believe in me: my husband, my parents, my best friend Jess, the staff at my school, my students, and friends who show up for the scans, the appointments, and the Netflix nights. They carry me when I’m wobbly. When I’m too tired. And when I really just want to build Legos or do a puzzle. I lean on them. I lean into music. I lean into crafts. I lean into the small joys.

“Everything in balance” is more than a phrase it’s my survival strategy. I let myself rest when I need to, fight when I must, and celebrate when I can. I bring hope to every scan day. I bring laughter to every leg-day of medications. I bring love to every minute that I can.

Even though I’m still learning what’s happening inside my body and how my treatment works, I refuse to let cancer define all of me. I will always be the teacher who gets excited over a chemistry lab, the coach who high-fives her golfers, the wife who plans weekend crafting afternoons, the woman who sees her cat sleep in a sunbeam and smiles.