Finding Strength Through Chalk: Charlotte’s Story

In the summer of 2023, Charlotte was balancing work, motherhood, and the busy rhythm of life with her 11-month-old daughter. One evening, while pumping after putting her baby to sleep, she noticed something wasn’t right. Later that night, in the shower, she reached under her arm and felt a lump.

Because she carries the BRCA1 gene mutation, Charlotte had been getting regular screenings since 2017. Just six months earlier, her scans were clear. “I had been keeping up with my mammograms and everything always came back fine,” she recalls. “But that night, I knew something was off.” A biopsy soon confirmed invasive ductal carcinoma, triple-negative breast cancer, stage two, grade three. She was only 32 years old.

Within days, Charlotte and her husband began contacting specialists and were quickly accepted at Duke Cancer Center. She underwent 20 weeks of chemotherapy, including immunotherapy, followed by a robotic double mastectomy done — a groundbreaking procedure that made her the first woman in North Carolina, and one of only a few in the country, to have it. “The surgery lasted about 14 hours,” she says. “It was long and complicated, but the team did everything they could to make sure it worked.”

Throughout treatment, her husband was her steady support, and her parents moved in from Washington, D.C., to help care for their granddaughter, Maya. “Having that support system meant everything,” Charlotte says. “It reminded me I didn’t have to face this alone.”

After finishing her final immunotherapy session in August 2024, Charlotte began adjusting to a new normal. Healing, she discovered, doesn’t end when treatment does. During that time, she found comfort in chalk art — an activity she started with her daughter that grew into something more. “I wrote uplifting quotes outside our home, and neighbors told me it brightened their day,” she says. “It became something that helped both me and others.”

Now, Charlotte partners with local shops and events to spread messages of hope and positivity through her art. “We all go through battles, big or small,” she says. “If my words can make someone smile after a hard day, that means everything.”

Her journey taught her to let go of control and trust her own strength. “It’s okay to feel everything,” she says. “But don’t live in that pain forever. Feel it, then get back up and keep going.”

Just like Coach Kay Yow once said, “I feel like I had zero control over getting cancer, but I have 100 percent control over how I will respond to dealing with cancer.” Charlotte embodies that same spirit of courage, grace, and perseverance every single day — and continues to inspire all of us to Be the Power of One More.