Never Alone

How a breast cancer survivor now supports other women facing cancer.

Kelly Conner, breast cancer survivor and founder of Give Grace

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2020, right as the pandemic hit.

I had just turned 40 and scheduled my first mammogram. I expected the appointment to be routine, but a few days prior, I found a lump in my armpit. I was immediately concerned, and a biopsy confirmed my fears.

At the time, I was working in retail leadership and raising three kids with my husband, Bert. It was a busy season for our family. It was also a weird season for the world—and an especially difficult time to face cancer.

Never alone

Bert had promised to be by my side for all my appointments. When everything shut down for COVID, and he could no longer join me, he was really upset.

I told him I would be fine. I could drive myself. Unbeknownst to me, the night before my first solo treatment, Bert and my kids stayed up making a poster.

Bert left the house and followed me to the hospital. He parked outside my window with his poster that said, “I can’t be with you, but I’m here. Love you.”

It was an amazing moment to look out the window and see my husband sitting there.

In need of a miracle

Bert sat in the hospital parking lot for all my treatment and appointments—including 16 rounds of chemotherapy. His support was amazing, but when I finished chemo, I still wasn’t out of the woods yet.

The worst day was after I had a follow-up scan. With Bert listening on the phone, I sat alone in the doctor’s office as I was given the results: a spot on my lung that had shown up on my initial scan had now doubled in size.

I asked the doctor to tell me exactly what she was thinking. I didn’t want to have false hope. She said, “It would be a miracle if it isn’t cancer,” meaning I might now have stage four cancer.

Getting chemo while never alone with Bert and his sign in the background.

Grief and fear

My first emotion was heartbreak for my family—grief over the thought that I might not be there for my husband and my girls.

I would have to wait a week for the biopsy results. I feared all the uncertainties that lay ahead.

How I found hope, strength and peace

I have always believed in God, but for many years I allowed life to take priority over actively walking with him. Cancer began drawing me back, and I now see that God was present throughout every season, even when I was not giving him the time or attention he deserved.

This relationship would soon prove vital to help me with all that lay ahead.

Peace in the waiting

As I waited on the news of whether my cancer spread or not, I remember first wanting time to just be sad. I gave myself that. But I also knew I had so much fight in me, and I became determined to do anything I could to overcome the cancer—or at least live as long as possible for my family.

Then, over the next few days, I started to feel peace.

It didn’t come from one dramatic conversation, Bible verse, or prayer. It was quieter than that. I spent time alone, reflecting, and kept coming back to a belief I had carried for a long time: everything happens for a reason. This was God’s will. He knew better than I did.

I still desperately wanted to live. I still felt grief over what I believed my family might lose. But I also began to accept that I could not control the outcome, and I was in God’s hands.

My halfway point for chemotherapy treatment.

Surrender and a miracle

What strikes me now is that the peace I felt didn’t come from a conviction that God would heal me; it came from beginning to trust him regardless of the future. God was teaching me to surrender to him before I even had the language to describe it.

Surrender did not mean giving up. It meant accepting God’s plan while continuing to fight with everything I had.

When the biopsy results finally came back, the spot wasn’t cancer! I had an infection that my doctor couldn’t explain but was not concerned about. No additional treatment needed.

It truly felt like a miracle.

A long road

After this awesome, somewhat surreal experience, I still had a long road of treatment ahead. With each step, I had to keep choosing to accept God’s plan.

All told, I went through two years of treatments, surgeries, and recovery. After chemo, I had a radical mastectomy followed by intensive radiation on an inoperable lymph node. In 2021, I had an oophorectomy. My big reconstruction surgery was that year as well.

Never alone continued

During those years, Bert wasn’t the only one who supported me.

My family and friends—even entire churches—continually prayed for me. This had a huge impact as I felt assured that I was never alone.

My oldest daughter, who was 13 at the time, hid encouraging sticky notes around our house. My mom sent me text messages at just the right times. People also made me posters, like the one Bert made. I saw all this support as a gift from God. It helped me keep growing closer to him as I went through treatment.

Now I am five years cancer-free, and the difference in my relationship with God is indescribable.

Bert and I and more encouraging signs from friends and family.

A new chapter

I didn’t realize it at the time, but the first day Bert sat outside my hospital window was the start of a new chapter in my life.

That day I snapped a selfie of me inside and him outside. When I posted it on social media, it went viral. We were asked to do a bunch of interviews, and it felt good inspiring others going through hard times.

Not long after I’d completed treatment, I realized I wanted to do more. Because of my own experience, I couldn’t fathom anyone walking their cancer journey alone, and I felt a strong urge to help other women.

In the fall of 2025, I started Give Grace, a non-profit supporting women facing breast cancer with the message that they are not alone. Recently, I left a 20-year career to pursue this work full time.

Our first project is a Comfort Kit with supplies I learned are helpful during treatment, like cozy socks and tea.

We’ve partnered with a local hospital to distribute them to women at the time of diagnosis, and I’m super excited to share hope in this tangible way.

Encouragement for those facing cancer

Believe that you are never alone, even when it feels like you are. Just as my husband faithfully sat in the hospital parking lot, God is always with you. A verse in the Bible, Joshua 1:9, says, “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Also, recognize that God sometimes reminds you of His presence through other people. They might write you sticky notes, send you texts, or offer a meal. Let those people help you. They want to!

Lastly, accept that you don’t always have to be strong. It’s okay to take your cancer journey one day at a time. God says in another Bible verse, 2 Corinthians 2:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I learned to rest and accept God’s grace, and I hope you will too.

For more about how to begin a relationship with God, see Knowing God Personally.

For more help on your journey, see Find Hope Now.

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How to find God’s hope, strength and peace