Twice Diagnosed, Never Defeated: Breast Cancer Survivor Cyndi Tibbetts Dares Others to ‘Say I Won’t’

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer presented by the Health First Cancer Institute

From chemo to a cruise with Bon Jovi, Cyndi Tibbetts’ journey is a testament to resilience, love and the power of a positive attitude. 

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — When Cyndi Tibbetts’ doctor told her she had breast cancer, it didn’t faze her.

Sure, it was her second bout with triple-negative breast cancer. But for Tibbetts, 66, of Rockledge, it was temporary – and she was grateful it was her, not her 97-year-old aunt or six-year-old granddaughter.

“Why not me?” Tibbetts said, who leans heavily on her faith. “I’ve been through it once. Why not twice?” 

Breast cancer will affect one in eight women during the course of their lifetime, according to BreastCancer.org. It is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in U.S. women, with about 32% of new cancer cases in women affecting the breasts. 

While female breast cancer rates have risen slowly since the mid-2000s, most (66%) are diagnosed at a localized stage – before it has spread beyond the breast.

Six months since her last chemo treatment, Tibbetts now believes there was a reason for getting cancer. 

Yes, even twice.

“I knew I had the strength to make it through anything that was placed on my plate, and there was a reason I was going through it,” shared Tibbetts.

The first cancer journey

Dressed in a floral pink print dress, pink Converse low-tops, and her closely cropped hair, Tibbetts owns her look – and attitude. Service, she explained, is her love language. And she wants to be a beacon of hope for others now walking the journey she did. Now a volunteer at New Life Mission, she’s excited about how she can help others in every way she can.

“The cancer part of my life is truly behind me,” Tibbetts said with a smile. “I have moved on into my future.”

Tibbetts has always had a heart of gold. The former executive assistant at Health First and Health First Medical Group has volunteered with the American Cancer Society for years.

She’s worked Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, too. This year’s Making Strides of Brevard is presented by the Health First Cancer Institute.

The walk starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at The Avenue Viera, 2261 Town Center Ave., Viera. 

In July 2021, a routine mammogram led to an ultrasound and biopsy. The diagnosis was Stage 2A triple-negative breast cancer. 

At first, she thought it was a “good” kind of cancer to have, such as a hormone receptor-positive cancer.

“Those kinds of cancer, you can take an estrogen blocker and have a better chance at not having a recurrence,” Tibbetts explained of her knowledge of the disease.

“Triple negative means none of that applies to you. You have the most aggressive form of breast cancer; it is more than likely going to come back within the first three years. Mine did three years and three months (later).” 

Triple negative breast cancer is aggressive and lacks the hormone receptors that make other types more treatable. Breastcancer.org explains that triple-negative breast cancers will not respond to hormonal therapy medicines (estrogen or progesterone) or the medicines that target the HER2 protein. These cases make up about 10% to 15% of all breast cancers in the U.S.

Triple-negative breast cancer tends to recur. After undergoing 16 chemotherapy treatments, a lumpectomy, and 32 radiation sessions, a radiologist spied two suspicious spots on Tibbett’s mammogram. While the radiologist suspected it could be scar tissue from Tibbetts’ lumpectomy, she erred on the side of caution, and a follow-up ultrasound was performed.

Tibbetts credits that radiologist for catching it early. Had it not been checked out then, she questions the stage it would have progressed to.

“It was Stage 1 triple-negative breast cancer in the same breast,” Tibbetts said. “The next time I’d have had a test would have been three months later, and with this cancer being as aggressive as it is, three months would have made a difference.”

This time, the chemo hit her harder. She went through four treatments, and it was “much harder than the first time around,” she shared. With a regime change, she felt the side effects that hadn’t bothered her the time before. 

“There were some really rough days,” said Tibbetts, who had a double mastectomy in June 2025. “It was not pleasant, but I’ve gotten on the other side of it…it does change the way you look at life.” 

Top-notch care – and support

Tibbetts praised her care team, including Dr. Sharon Noori, a Health First breast surgeon, and Dr. Long Dang, who specializes in hematology and oncology. All of her breast cancer care was provided by Health First.

“They are just angels walking the earth,” Tibbetts said. 

She also found strength in meeting other survivors in the Health First Breast Cancer Support Group, held at 5:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the Breast Center at Gateway, 1223 Gateway Drive, Melbourne. It is open to any breast cancer patient or survivor, regardless of where there sought treatment. 

“It’s overwhelming, because it changes your life in a dime,” Tibbetts said of being diagnosed. “You can make all the plans you want to make, but you have to respect the fact that if you are going to get this disease, you’re going to have to remain positive – and you’re going to have to just work through it.”

Tibbetts also credits fellow survivors and her husband, Tony O’Bier, with helping her keep her spirits up. She met him while pet sitting, and she feels blessed to have him by her side. 

“We have been one another’s strength,” Tibbetts said. 

A self-proclaimed “sarcastic girl,” Tibbetts said she doesn’t like to be told she can’t do something. 

“My attitude is, ‘Say I won’t. Watch me,’ ” she said.

A tattoo on her arm bears the lyrics of a song by exactly that name, “Say I Won’t.” Tibbetts said the song celebrates making the most out of living life.

“ ‘I’m going to know what it means to live and not just be alive. Say I won’t,’ ” she said of the lyrics. “And that’s what cancer did for me. It taught me that I want to live as long as I can live, that’s not within my control, but the life I have left to live, I’m going to live it as wide as possible. I’m going to do as many things as I can possibly do.”

Travel is on her radar. Vermont, New England and Sicily with O’Bier are in her plans, eventually. And her bucket list? Already checked off. Her husband even took her on a cruise with headliner Jon Bon Jovi.

“I couldn’t even speak,” Tibbetts recounted. “I practiced for months what I was going to say, and once I looked into his eyes…”

(Yes. She totally fangirled it.) 

Tibbetts also embraces her life with joy and humor. With two granddaughters who call her Gigi, she said, “My life is just full of simple pleasures.”

‘Don’t give up hope’

During October, a month of breast cancer advocacy, Tibbetts urges women to stay on top of their health. For those putting off their annual mammogram?

“Please don’t,” she pleaded. “Take care of yourself. Put yourself high on your list of priorities.”

Most of all, she said, be upbeat – and don’t try to be a hero. 

“Let others help you,” Tibbets said. “Allow yourself to feel all of the feelings that go with the diagnosis and treatment…give yourself grace. Don’t give up hope.”

And remember to live.

“That’s what you learn through cancer,” she said. “You know every day is a blessing…The life I have left to live, I’m going to live it as wide as possible.”  

For more information on the Health First Breast Center, visit hf.org/breast-health or call 321.728.6002.

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