Mentor: Samantha Horn

Sam was diagnosed with stage II, ER+ breast cancer in 2014 when she was 26 years old and learned of her BRCA1+ status after her diagnosis. After completing surgery and chemotherapy, she sought ways to give back to the cancer community. She became a Young Advocate with Living Beyond Breast Cancer in September, 2016, where she was bitten by the advocacy bug. Since training with Living Beyond Breast Cancer, she has reviewed grants for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and joined the Johns Hopkins Medicine Young Women’s Advisory Committee for their Breast Cancer Program. Sam is a member of the Young Survival Coalition’s Respected Influencers through Science and Education (RISE) class of 2020 and continues advocacy efforts at Johns Hopkins.

Other advocacy includes giving testimony to the Maryland State Senate Finance Committee to lobby for Maryland insurers to cover the cost of fertility preservation and media coverage for the same bill. Her personal and professional interests came together when she accepted a position as an Adolescent and Young Adult Patient Navigator with the Ulman Foundation, where she fostered a community of support for young adults ages 15-39 impacted by cancer.