When you meet Teresa Kao today you could never imagine her as a woman who at one time had been defeated by cancer — anxious, depressed and fearful. She is a joyful woman, filled with light, living in the moment and appreciating what every day brings. But when Teresa was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2004, her life was turned upside down. Complicating her ability to cope with her diagnosis and treatment were the dramatic, unexpected deaths of both her mother and brother.

Teresa was born in China, grew up in Taiwan and came to the United States in 1971 to attend graduate school. She, her husband and their two children settled in Voorhees, NJ in 1987. Her parents who moved to the U.S. in 1982 moved to China in 2001, but her brother lived nearby in Cherry Hill. Teresa was happy with her life. She had a career in computer programming, enjoyed singing with her choir and went to the gym almost daily.

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Amy Link always knew she would get breast cancer.

“For me the question wasn’t ‘if?’ it was ‘when?” says Amy. When she was eight, she watched her mother lose her battle with breast cancer at age 32. And her grandmother died of the disease in her 50s.

In September 2006, at age 38, Amy’s question was answered. The wife and mother of two young children found a lump in her breast and another under her arm. Over a six week period Amy met with a Cooper genetic counselor, had genetic testing, underwent a mammogram, ultrasound and lumpectomy, and ultimately received the expected diagnosis of breast cancer. Amy talked over her options with Dr. Generosa Grana, director of the Cooper Cancer Institute, and decided to move forward with a double mastectomy.

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