A couple of months ago, I conducted an interview with Brianne "Breezy" Bochenek. I have been close friends with her older brother since middle school, and that was the time that Breezy was diagnosed with cancer. She was nine years old when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer that led to an amputation just above the knee on her left leg.
Thankfully, she has now been cancer-free for more than four years. Her wisdom is beyond her years and her achievements are incredulous, including things like singing the national anthem at a Raiders game and competing in triathlons. For a 14-year-old, she really puts things into perspective.
Who is your role model?
I would have to say my mom is my role model because she sacrifices everything for our family, it is touching to see how much she cares. Especially going through cancer and having to be in the hospital, she stopped everything to take care of me. My mom has taught us (me and my siblings) to be so strong and always there for each other, with her encouraging us like that. That’s what I wanna be when I grow up, just a great mother like my own.
What was your initial reaction when you found out you had cancer?
Well, I was so young that I didn’t know what cancer was. But when I saw my parents crying I knew that it couldn’t be good. My first reaction was my siblings...I didn’t want them to feel sad or worry about me. I wanted to go get coloring books so that we could just have fun, I wanted to do something fun with them so that they wouldn’t be scared about it. Since I didn’t really know what it was, I wasn’t very scared but I didn’t want anyone else to worry about me.
Was there ever a point where it felt like it would be easier to give up? What was that like?
Actually, I hear that a lot of people feel that way, but I never felt that way because I was so young and I didn’t want to let anyone else down, so it wasn’t even a thought in my mind. Since I was so young I didn’t know how much it could hurt me, I just knew I didn’t want it to stop me, so I kept being positive because there were so many people praying for me, how could I ever be down?
So I didn’t really feel that way partly because I was young but also because I just had so much to be thankful for, we pushed through it as a family. I always knew there was a reason it was happening, God doesn’t just give you cancer for no reason, so I let it happen so I could do something with it, make a difference somehow.
You and your family remained very positive throughout it all, what was your motivation or what kept you going?
Well, I have my favorite bible verse: Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”. That was what was on my first prosthetic leg that I got, that was something that always stuck with me. We couldn’t stop going, because there were so many people helping us, like people from the church would send us blankets, I could never get discouraged or want to give up because there were so many people supporting me. My dad said you can let 30 seconds go by when you first find out and it’s sad but the rest of the time you have to be positive.
What currently keeps you going?
I feel like now I do a lot of public speaking. After going through this hard thing and people hear your story and see who you are now it inspires them. Now that I'm done with it, what am I going to do with all that I've learned from it? Even though cancer is hard, it has given me so many things that I can use to help others and make lives better.
Would you trade or change any part of your journey?
No. I think everything happens for a reason. When I first got cancer, we were going to do this crazy thing in France where there was some healing thing, and try to get a miracle, but I told my dad that I don’t want a miracle, and that I knew this was happening because I could help people. I didn’t know how, but I just felt like it was happening for a reason. I felt like I could do good with that. I felt like I could have God live through me.
What has been a defining moment in your life so far?
I have one friend, her name was Taylon. She was a year younger than me and she had the same cancer that I had, a year after I was better. She needed an amputation but she just wanted to give up and let the cancer take her but her mom showed her my video and it gave her the strength to realize that she can have a life after (the amputation).
So I met her after her surgery and we became pretty close friends, and we were able to go through it together. But she kind of spiraled downwards, she kept getting more tumors, and then she got a tumor in her brain that was terminal, but it was defining because she remained so positive. Positive with her faith in God and her family was so faithful. They just knew that God was doing it for a reason, even though she was dying she remained so positive.
She was always in so much pain but she made me laugh all the time. When she passed away, it was defining because she motivates me, like when I’m running and in pain, I think of her and push through it. It’s given me the strength to keep doing what I’m doing because even though some people can’t survive this they can inspire you after they’re gone.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Well, not sure what I want to do with a job but what I want to do with my life is have a family. After having the amazing big family that I have been in I really want to have that for myself and have my own kids. I do still see myself public speaking, I still see that because I do that a lot now and people keep asking me, too.
I think it is really good to share your story and the positive things you do after learning. I want to keep volunteering with Challenged Athletes and Rooms of Hope, because with cancer there are so many people who are on the verge of losing hope. By being there I hope to be able to give them the extra push to keep going even when they feel like giving up.
What is one message you would like everyone in the world to know?
Well in my speeches I always have three. The first one is be positive because attitude is everything, you have to embrace challenges because no matter what, life is going to have challenges but it’s how you deal with them that shows your attitude. The second one is from Taylon actually, it is: you’re alive so live.
Don’t waste your life, because you have a life. You have one life where you can do so many amazing things with it, so live your life to the fullest and follow your dreams. The final one is my favorite and I use it all the time. It’s to get outside your comfort zone because that’s where the magic happens. You’re never going to have any magic happening when you’re not taking chances. Public speaking is how I get outside of my comfort zone, it’s how I make so many amazing friendships.
