I Cheated Death Twice
Hi friends,
Some conversations stay with you because of what someone has been through.
Others stay with you because of what they decided to do with it.
My conversation with Krissy White was both.
Krissy told me something during our time together that I haven’t been able to shake:
“I cheated death twice.”
The first time came years before breast cancer, when a life-threatening pregnancy left Krissy fighting for her life. She lost so much blood that doctors later told her another ten minutes could have changed everything. Her daughter required two blood transfusions. Krissy needed five. Krissy White Transcript
Years later, Krissy was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She went into her treatment meeting thinking she had an idea of what was ahead. Instead, she learned she would face an aggressive treatment plan that included chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Krissy White Transcript
And that is where this conversation became about so much more than cancer.
Because eventually Krissy had to wrestle with a question I think many of us ask after walking through something we never would have chosen:
Why am I still here?
Krissy said, “I’m obviously here for a bigger purpose.”
That purpose didn’t become clear all at once. But over time, serving other women through the Tuman Breast Cancer Foundation began to show her what God might be doing with the very story she never would have written for herself. Krissy White Transcript
Today, Krissy serves as president of the foundation, helping women and families through some of the most practical and overwhelming parts of breast cancer treatment. In the past year alone, the foundation helped 68 women with things like wigs, co-pays, cold-capping support, meals, and other needs that can make an already difficult season feel just a little lighter. Krissy White Transcript
She is also the author of My Pink Truth, a book she wrote because when she was diagnosed, she couldn’t find the honest story she needed—the good, the bad, the ugly, and all the questions in between. Krissy White Transcript
One of my favorite things Krissy said about herself was:
“In a black-and-white world, I was always pink.”
And I think that says so much about her.
Cancer changed what pink meant to her for a while. It changed her body. It changed her family. It changed the way she looked at life.
But it didn’t take away who she was.
And maybe that is one of the things I loved most about this conversation.
Krissy didn’t pretend the hard parts weren’t hard. She talked about losing her hair, going through treatment during COVID, sitting alone through appointments, leaning on her husband and children, and having a lot of conversations with God along the way.
At one point she described reaching a place where she simply had to surrender:
“I gave it all to Him.”
I understand that feeling.
There are seasons when we do everything we know to do, fight as hard as we know to fight, and eventually realize there are pieces of the story we were never meant to control.
That doesn’t mean we stop fighting.
It means we learn where our strength actually comes from.
Krissy’s story reminded me that sometimes purpose doesn’t make sense while we are walking through the pain.
Sometimes we only recognize it when we look back and realize God was still working—even in the parts we never would have chosen.
Krissy is still here.
And she is using what she walked through to help someone else keep walking.
That feels like purpose to me.
I hope you’ll listen to this week’s conversation with Krissy White.
And if you know someone walking through breast cancer right now, I hope you’ll share this episode with her. Sometimes hearing from someone who has actually been there can make a person feel a little less alone.
With hope,
Dallas
P.S. Krissy’s book, My Pink Truth, was written for the woman going through breast cancer—and for the people who love her and want to understand what she may be experiencing. It’s honest, raw, and very much Krissy.