Kate Zickel is contributor at Verily Magazine, Vinazine, and other health and women’s publications. In 2017, Kate was diagnosed stage 3 breast cancer at age 30. She decided that she would share the details of her struggle from treatment, to her marriage, to fertility, to the removal of her breasts with social media. During her treatment, friends and family became closer to Kate due to her willingness to be open, her positivity, her faith, and her transparency. Kate regularly share the ups and downs of her journey on her Facebook page Kate Kicks Cancer. Kate is married to the love of her life and currently lives in the Washington, D.C., area.
After her TED Talk in 2010 on the power of vulnerability, Brené Brown’s theories about this enigmatic quality spread quietly but quickly throughout our collective conscience. “Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the…