ROSTRAVER, Pa. — Kate Crawford, a mother of three young children, thought her relentless exhaustion, headaches, and stomachaches were simply part of life with toddlers. At 26, she was juggling the demands of motherhood and the stress of raising three children under the age of three. Once, she rushed to the emergency room with stabbing back pain, only to be told, “That’s just motherhood,” she recalls.
But Crawford, now 41, knew something was wrong. A self-administered breast exam revealed abnormalities that prompted further testing. At 28, she received a devastating diagnosis: Stage 4 breast cancer. Doctors told her at the time that she had less than two years to live.
“I assumed that this was motherhood, and I was not supposed to be feeling good,” Crawford told PEOPLE. “But my instincts told me otherwise, and I’m grateful I listened.”
Before stepping away from her career to focus on her family, Crawford had worked as a firefighter and EMT in her hometown of Rostraver, Pennsylvania. Her background in emergency care, she says, helped her navigate the immediate chaos following her diagnosis, but the personal battle was far more harrowing.
Over the past 13 years, Crawford has undergone rigorous treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation, and experimental therapies. In August, she marked a significant milestone: her 200th cancer treatment. Throughout her journey, she has remained determined to make memories with her children and to live life fully despite the odds.
Today, Crawford is focused not only on her own survival but also on raising awareness about breast cancer, particularly the importance of early detection and listening to one’s body. Her story is a testament to resilience, maternal devotion, and the ongoing fight against a disease that often strikes unexpectedly.
A Mother’s Journey Through Loss, Premature Birth, and Resilience
Kate Crawford’s journey to motherhood was marked by profound heartbreak and medical challenges, each shaping her perspective on life and family.
Her first daughter, Shannon, was born healthy but tragically passed away just three days later. “Shannon changed my life. I faced death with her; she died in my arms,” Crawford recalls. “I am afraid, but not afraid, and it’s all because of her.” The loss left an indelible mark on Crawford. She remembers thinking, “If this ever happens again, that’s it. My life is over.”
Just months later, she endured another loss: a miscarriage in the early stages of her second trimester. Yet, amid the grief, hope returned. Approximately five months after the miscarriage, Crawford discovered she was pregnant with twins — daughters Grace and Lily. When the girls came home from the hospital, she experienced a profound moment of relief and joy. “Oh my gosh, I’m finally a mom,” she said.
Her journey didn’t stop there. Her son, Stephen Jr., arrived eight weeks premature, facing immediate and ongoing medical needs. He underwent seven different therapies, five days a week, and was later diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy. Crawford’s own medical struggles were significant; she underwent a surgical procedure that involved incisions from her chest to her pelvic region, a bladder repair, and a hysterectomy.
Through all of this, Crawford was managing three children under the age of three, balancing medical appointments, therapy sessions, and the daily realities of motherhood. Her story is one of resilience and determination, demonstrating the lengths a mother will go to care for her children while navigating unimaginable personal challenges.
Kate Crawford with her daughters, Grace and Lily.
Courtesy Kate Crawford
From Motherhood to Diagnosis: One Woman’s Battle with Breast Cancer
Kate Crawford, now 41, remembers the moment she first began to feel something was wrong. “I just chalked everything up to, ‘I’m a mom, I’m really busy,’” she recalls. Life with three young children was chaotic, and she assumed her exhaustion and pain were simply part of motherhood. But when persistent back pain and a cough wouldn’t go away, Crawford knew it was time to listen to her body.
During a routine annual checkup with her OB-GYN, she mentioned that her breast felt unusual and that she had been unusually tired. After an exam, her doctor ordered a mammogram. “I remember his face was concerned,” Crawford said. “But I was like, ‘This could not possibly be anything.’ I had already lost a daughter, endured a miscarriage, and fought so hard to become a mom. There was no way the universe would throw this at me.”
The following week, Crawford went in for her mammogram. A compassionate doctor sat beside her and shared her concern. “I’m not going to lie. I looked at your chart and saw that you’re 28, and I never in a million years would have expected to see anything on your mammogram,” the doctor said. “But I’m worried about what I see, so we need to schedule a biopsy.”
The call confirming her diagnosis came on a day that should have been a celebration: her husband’s 41st birthday. A nurse informed Crawford that she had breast cancer. “I cried. I was like, ‘This cannot be real life,’” she recalls.
For Crawford, the diagnosis marked the beginning of a grueling journey, one that would test her physically, emotionally, and as a mother. But it also sparked a determination to fight for her life and to focus on making memories with her children, a fight that continues more than a decade later.
Stage 4 Diagnosis: Facing the Fight of Her Life
When Kate Crawford met with a breast surgeon, she thought she was simply going in for routine care. “Is anything else going on with you?” the surgeon asked. Crawford replied, “Oh my gosh, no, I’m totally fine.” But her husband interjected, detailing the persistent back pain, exhaustion, lingering cough, and upset stomach that Crawford had downplayed. “I looked at him and said, ‘I’m fine,’” she recalls. “As moms, we think we have to be strong and put ourselves last to take care of the kids.”
The surgeon admitted Crawford to the hospital, and that night, she delivered devastating news. Sitting on Crawford’s hospital bed, she explained that the scans revealed stage 4 breast cancer. The disease had spread aggressively — into her right shoulder, ribs, both breasts, her liver, pelvis, and spine.
Crawford’s first thoughts were of her children. “Am I going to die? Am I going to leave my babies?” she asked. The surgeon’s response was honest but determined: “We’re going to try to not let that happen.”
Despite the grim prognosis, Crawford resolved to fight. “Even if they only gave me a 1% chance of surviving, I was going to try,” she says. “If studies showed a treatment could help me, I was going to do it. I knew a stage four diagnosis was a very, very poor prognosis, but I wasn’t ready to give up.”
Her oncologist laid out the plan: chemotherapy, delivered with maximum intensity to combat the aggressive disease. “We’re going to do chemo and we’re going to hit this as hard as we can,” he told her. And with that, Crawford began one of the toughest battles of her life — determined to survive not just for herself, but for her children.
Kate Crawford at the hospital.
Courtesy Kate Crawford
Fighting for Life Through a “Mommy Bucket List”
In 2013, at 28 years old, with three young children at home, Kate Crawford began chemotherapy. Treatments came weekly, stretching over a year and a half. From the moment of her diagnosis, her thoughts were consumed by her children. “This has to be a joke. There’s no way that God or the universe would just tear me away from my babies,” she recalls.
Determined to focus on the life she still had, Crawford created what she called “The Mommy Bucket List.” Sitting down with her children, she outlined experiences both big and small: extravagant trips to Disney or Hawaii, but also milestones she feared she might never witness — teaching them to read, celebrating an A on a paper, seeing them join band, watching Stephen Jr. enter kindergarten, and eventually attending prom. “All the little things that parents might take for granted, because they’re normal, to me, were extraordinary,” she said.
The bucket list became a lifeline, helping Crawford envision a future alongside her children. Her friends, family, and entire community rallied to support her mission. Before her daughters even started kindergarten, the local high school honored Grace, Lily, and Stephen Jr. as the district’s first Prom Princesses and Prince, allowing them to participate in the “Grand March” ceremony traditionally reserved for high school seniors.
“It was a weird paradox,” Crawford reflects. “I was quite literally dying on the inside, but yet experiencing these beautiful, joyful moments with my family.” The bucket list became not just a guide for experiences, but a symbol of hope and determination, keeping her grounded amid the grueling fight for her life.
Living With Stage 4 Breast Cancer: 13 Years of Resilience and Focus on Family
When Kate Crawford was first diagnosed, doctors gave her 18 to 24 months to live. But through determination and a rigorous new treatment plan, she has defied the odds — surviving one year, then two, three, five, ten, and now approaching thirteen years this coming January.
“Every single year, I have a moment where I check myself and think, ‘Okay, what if this is the last year?’” Crawford admits. “I know breast cancer will kill me one day. It just hasn’t done it yet, but it’s a matter of time.”
For Crawford, each day is measured not in fear, but in meaningful moments with her children. “All I want to do in my life is make memories with my family. I don’t want them to look back with sadness. I want my kids to know that, even though Mommy was sick, she did her best and she showed up.”
Her mission extends beyond her own family. Crawford wants others facing similar diagnoses to know they are not alone. “I want to share the reality of living with cancer, because if you saw me on the street, you would have no idea. You would not think, ‘Yeah, she has late-stage cancer.’ But I do. I deal with pain every single day.”
Crawford’s story is one of resilience, advocacy, and the quiet courage of living fully despite a terminal illness — a testament to the life she continues to fight for, and the family moments she refuses to miss.
A Family’s Resilience Amid Life-Threatening Challenges
In 2022, Kate Crawford faced yet another family crisis when her son, Stephen Jr., became gravely ill. Fearing he might be having a stroke, she rushed him to the emergency room, only to learn that he had a brain tumor.
“Stephen has watched me all these years as I fight to stay alive,” Crawford says. “He’s able to take his diagnosis and do what he has to do. He’s so much like me. He had his little pity party after he was diagnosed in sixth grade, and then he came back fighting. Everything is stable with him now.”
Crawford credits her husband, Steve, a forensic detective, with being the cornerstone of their family. “He is my absolute rock. I don’t think we could do any of this without him. He supports us in all the ways a husband and dad should support his family. I’m very thankful for him,” she says.
Today, the family continues to grow and thrive despite the challenges they have faced. Stephen Jr. is now 15, while the twins, Grace and Lily, just turned 17 and are entering their senior year of high school. For Crawford, these milestones represent both the fragility and the beauty of life — reminders of the moments she continues to fight to witness and cherish.
Full-Circle Moments and Advocacy Through Cancer Culture
Kate Crawford recalls the fear she felt when her daughters were approaching kindergarten, uncertain if she would even live to see them reach such milestones. “I remember crying that I didn’t think I was going to see the girls go to kindergarten. And now here I am, and they’re going into their senior year,” she says.
This past year brought another milestone: all three of her children attended prom together. “It was such a full-circle moment. I never thought I was going to be here to see it. My kids gave me the will to live, and I’m teaching them how to live,” Crawford reflects.
Beyond family milestones, Crawford continues to advocate for cancer awareness and the lived experiences of those fighting the disease. Just last week, she walked in a Cancer Culture fashion show during New York Fashion Week. The show progressed from pre-vivors to stages 1, 2, 3, culminating with metastatic survivors, who appeared with dark face makeup and Mad Max-inspired hair.
“It was really powerful,” Crawford says. “I was embracing my anger, and I just didn’t care who saw me, who saw my scars. I was there to make a statement, to get a point across. It was such a beautiful way to tell that story.”
For Crawford, moments like these are more than symbolic; they are acts of defiance and visibility, demonstrating both the physical and emotional realities of living with stage 4 breast cancer.
Embracing Life Amid Uncertainty
As Kate Crawford grows older, her approach to life has evolved. She no longer meticulously writes down experiences on a “bucket list.” Instead, she seizes opportunities as they arise. “If an opportunity were to present itself, I’d say, ‘Absolutely!’ But I don’t want to plan for it, because you don’t know. I don’t know where I’ll be next year. You have to grip life and live it,” she says.
Crawford reflects on the hardships she has faced — the losses, the illness, the uncertainty — and the futility of searching for a reason behind the pain. “Bad things happen, and there’s no rhyme, there’s no reason. I searched for all those answers. I wanted to know why all these bad things happened. Now, when I look back, I tell myself that no matter what happens, everything’s going to turn out okay.”
Though her life has diverged from what she once envisioned, she finds joy in small, everyday moments. “Sometimes I’ll be driving down the road and look over at one of the kids, or I’m in the backyard feeding my ducks, and I think, ‘Man, what a great life.’ My kids gave me the will to live, and I’m teaching them how to live. This is such a beautiful life, and I can’t believe I’m even given the opportunity to be on this earth and live it.”
For Crawford, life is no longer about certainty or control; it’s about presence, gratitude, and embracing the moments that make each day meaningful.
