Our Patient Advocacy Program

Chantal is a two-time cancer survivor and passionate patient advocate based in Frederick, Maryland. She works in the special education department of a public school district and brings a personal understanding of fertility challenges faced by cancer patients.

Her journey to parenthood began in early 2020, but a diagnosis of stage 4 endometriosis quickly shifted her path. During a procedure, her doctor discovered a lump and after further testing she was diagnosed with nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Because she previously worked at a fertility clinic and helped oncofertility patients get urgent appointments, Chantal and her husband immediately pursued embryo preservation. Following chemotherapy and a failed IVF attempt, her plans were further disrupted by a diagnosis of stage 3 uterine cancer, leading to emergency surgery and a complete hysterectomy.

Despite these setbacks, Chantal transformed her personal challenges into purpose. She now advocates for greater awareness of fertility preservation and surrogacy for cancer patients, encouraging others to advocate for themselves.

She and her husband recently began their surrogacy journey and are working toward building their family while inspiring others to pursue parenthood on their own terms. They live with their dog, Juno, in their new home which they hope to someday fill with the laughter of children.

When Shane was 15, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, right around the time Lance Armstrong was turning survivorship from a stigma into a badge of honor. Though he considered it the most interesting thing about himself, his only mention of it over the two ensuing decades was as a source of inspiration for friends and loved ones newly touched by the disease. When he would reveal himself as a survivor, their inevitable surprise often yielded, “I would’ve never known.” Then he asked them to imagine the day when the same would be said of their loved one upon their loved ones’ cancer victory.

Upon his twentieth “Re-Birthday,” Shane joined a pediatric cancer foundation and fell in love with the people going through what he went through. He listened to their stories and told them. He celebrated them and mourned them. Nearly a decade later he’s lending his voice to ensuring that today’s survivors have the option of telling their stories to their own children.

Shane’s unique perspective is informed from diverse vocations that span human services, technology, education, non-profit consulting and grant writing. He empties his heart into his causes so that the people he encounters can fill up the lives of those they serve. As he has only recently considered starting his own family, it occurred that, due to his treatment from long ago, he first had to discover if that was even possible. He recently learned that, like everything, it is. And now his attention turns from knowing that it’s possible – to helping others make it more likely.