Women Continued Caring for Their Cancer Patients Together, Even After Receiving Their Own Breast Cancer Diagnoses (Exclusive)

Women Continued Caring for Their Cancer Patients Together, Even After Receiving Their Own Breast Cancer Diagnoses (Exclusive) https://ift.tt/BuZ3psM

Karen Grant and Rosa Somsky, friends and coworkers at a Florida cancer center, were both diagnosed with breast cancer in January

Rosa Somsky (left) and Karen Grant (right).
Credit: AdventHealth/Rick Turner

NEED TO KNOW

• Two women, who are friends and coworkers at a Florida cancer center, were both diagnosed with breast cancer in January
• Karen Grant and Rosa Somsky did not stop working to help others on their cancer journeys, despite facing their own
• “There were days when we would see each other in the hallway and high-five each other, because we understood exactly what the other person had gone through that day,” Rosa tells PEOPLE, while Karen adds, “We shared experiences that no one else would be able to understand”

Two women didn’t let their breast cancer diagnoses stop them from continuing to care for their cancer patients, who were also on their own health journeys.

Karen Grant and Rosa Somsky have worked across the hall from each other at AdventHealth Palm Coast’s Freytag Cancer Center in Florida for the past four years. Back in January, Grant, a social worker at the cancer center, and Somsky, a breast care navigator, were both diagnosed with breast cancer.

“There are some things about cancer that are difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced them. Karen and I didn’t have to explain those things to each other,” Somsky, 62, tells PEOPLE. “We could talk about fear, frustration and the things we sometimes didn’t want to share with the people we love because we didn’t want them to worry. We checked on one another, texted, called and compared our experiences.”

“There were days when we would see each other in the hallway and high-five each other, because we understood exactly what the other person had gone through that day,” she continues. “Cancer is not something either of us would ever choose to have in common, but having her beside me made me feel less alone.”

“We shared experiences that no one else would be able to understand,” Grant, 67, adds. “Even though we both work with cancer patients, it’s important to have boundaries and not overshare with our patients, but with each other, we could share our deepest feelings, not needing to filter anything.”

A woman checking her breasts (stock image).
Credit: Getty

Grant was diagnosed with breast cancer following a May 2025 mammogram. Though it showed no mammographic evidence of cancer, it noted dense breast tissue and recommended considering supplemental screening.

After undergoing a breast MRI that identified a suspicious mass, and a later biopsy that confirmed invasive ductal carcinoma, Grant underwent a lumpectomy, as well as other treatments.

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Somsky, meanwhile, received her breast cancer diagnosis after she noticed a mark along her left mastectomy area — almost three decades after she was first diagnosed with the disease. She treated her recurrent invasive ductal carcinoma through surgery and radiation.

“It was surreal. After almost 28 years, breast cancer was part of my history, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it to become part of my present again,” Somsky tells PEOPLE. “Hearing that I had cancer again was devastating.”

A woman holding a breast cancer awareness ribbon (stock image).
Credit: Getty

During their respective bouts with breast cancer, both Grant and Somsky continued to work.

“It could be difficult at times to be present and not be triggered by my own cancer journey trauma, and I tried to be mindful of self-disclosure when it was for a patient’s benefit and not my benefit,” Grant says.

“I definitely have a better understanding of what patients might be experiencing, and hope I am a better social worker and psychotherapist because of it,” she continues.

As for Somsky? She explains, “Continuing to work was extremely important to me. I have spent my career as a nurse helping patients, and as a breast care navigator, I walk alongside women during some of the most frightening moments of their lives.”

“Going through cancer myself while continuing to navigate other women was emotional at times. There were moments when a patient’s story felt very close to my own. But the experience has also made me understand my patients on a much deeper level,” she adds.