In the Magazine

Photo by Erneil Johnny

Janiela Roachford

Brooklyn, New York
Stage II adenoid cystic carcinoma at 
age 30 in 2015

Today: Roachford, who was born on the island of St. Vincent, keeps busy by managing a Caribbean restaurant in Brooklyn, working on a degree in hospitality management and spending time with her daughters, ages 14 and 7. She also blogs and speaks about her experiences with cancer—including her surgery to remove the tumor from her jaw, radiation and her struggles with a prosthesis that allows her to speak, eat and drink. “I’ve been a private person all my life,” says Roachford, who didn’t initially realize that her blog posts were automatically being shared on her Facebook page. She received such positive responses to her honest posts that she continued to update her blog. “I decided to keep writing,” she says.

Photo courtesy of Roseanne Venturino

Roseanne Venturino

Staten Island, New York
Stage IIIC colon cancer at age 49 in 2014, Stage IV colon cancer at age 50 in 2015

Today: A fitness instructor and personal trainer for more than 10 years, Venturino enjoys being active and is finishing a book of inspirational quotes. Exercise “helped me tremendously through my losses and disappointments in life,” she says. Despite being advised that maintaining her physically taxing career while undergoing treatment for metastatic cancer would be difficult, Venturino continues to see clients in between chemotherapy sessions. She says that exercise has helped her both mentally and physically since her 2014 diagnosis. She also relishes trips to the beach with her husband and son (pictured with her here) and two daughters. “I try to maintain a strong, positive attitude,” she says.