Whether we like it or not, breast cancer is a major event in one’s life.

When you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, it can kind of feel like your life just sort of… stops for a little while. We often go through life without paying too much mind to the myriad of things that occur behind the scenes. But cancer is different; cancer is always lurking in the background. Your treatments take up a big portion of your life, and they can last for weeks, months, or even years. As difficult as it may be, you can’t let yourself be ruled by cancer’s pressure. If you’re looking for inspiration, consider Maggie Kudirka, also known as “the Bald Ballerina.”

Maggie grew up with a passionate love for classical dance. She had difficulty expressing herself with her words when she was young, so dance was her means of conveying her feelings to the outside world. When she was 23, however, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Uncertainty pilled up; would she still be able to dance? Would she still be able to live her life? Would she even have a life? Instead of falling into despair, though, Maggie threw herself into dance. Her dance studio was her place to be herself, and she would go there whenever she could.

Maggie’s courage and confidence, bolstered by her dance, is what got her through her treatment. When she had to have a double mastectomy, she did it without hesitation, because she knew that even if her body was forced to undergo physical changes, she would still be beautiful because she knew she was beautiful. Though cancer patients at her age of initial diagnosis have a low survival rate, she beat the odds with her willpower, and now leads a happy life as the dancer she always wanted to be. Cancer still looms in the background, but she refuses to let it rule her, following her dreams and telling her story along the way.