A year ago, Tracey Mitchell-Strong spent the holiday season fighting for her life.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2024 while also managing diabetes, congestive heart failure and other health conditions, Mitchell-Strong endured months of surgeries, hospital stays and back-to-back medical appointments under the care of Community Health Network. This year, after completing her final cancer treatment and ringing the bell for the last time, she is entering the holidays with gratitude and a renewed outlook on life.
“In actuality, I was in the hospital during both of the approaching holiday seasons,” Mitchell-Strong said. “I had had to have surgery right before Thanksgiving and got out of the hospital a little bit before Thanksgiving Day. And then during the Christmas season, I was actually released from the hospital on Christmas Eve.”
The physical demands of cancer treatment, combined with multiple chronic conditions, required intensive coordination among specialists. Mitchell-Strong described a care model that focused on collaboration and listening, something she said made a critical difference in her survival.
“I can honestly say that these individuals at Community Hospital saved my life,” she said. “From my very first meeting with each and every doctor, the one thing that I would always tell them is leave no stone unturned.”
Mitchell-Strong said her care team pursued every available test, treatment and referral, while also ensuring she understood each step of the process. “Whatever test I was told to take, I took it,” she said. “They listened to what I had to say.”
She credited a multidisciplinary team of specialists — Dr. Meghan Beer, who performed her double mastectomy; oncologist Dr. Anuj Agarwala; and radiologist Dr. William Tyler Turchan — with working together to address her cancer and related health complications.
“If they didn’t collaborate, and if they didn’t take the time to care and learn about me, I wouldn’t be where I am right now talking to you on this telephone,” Mitchell-Strong said.
The journey took a toll emotionally as well as physically. “It was appointment after appointment,” she said. “At times I would go into a very dark place, but I knew that I had to snap out of it in order for me to continuously live.”
Throughout treatment, Mitchell-Strong was surrounded by support from her husband, daughter, extended family, church community and sorority sisters. Friends attended appointments, provided meals, helped with transportation and offered financial assistance when needed.
“I was never alone,” she said. “Just those little acts of kindness and them showing care, support and love, that also pushed me to want to fight a little bit harder.”
Her daughter, Jade Strong, said the diagnosis was devastating for their family.
“I lost it during the appointment,” she said. “My mom is everything to me. She’s my first best friend.”
As an only child, Jade Strong became the primary caregiver, helping with daily tasks and advocating for her mother during hospital visits.
“I would go to her house (and) clean up,” she said. “If she needed food, I would go get her food if she needed to. I just didn’t want her to move as much.”
Jade Strong said she witnessed firsthand the relationships her mother formed with doctors and nurses across Community facilities.
“I just could tell the nurses built a relationship with my mom,” she said. “So, I could really tell that when my mom was in their care, they made sure she was okay.”
Mitchell-Strong rang the ceremonial bell marking the completion of cancer treatment three times, with the final ringing symbolizing more than medical closure. “… This was finality in that I fought the hard fight,” she said, “(I’m) only done in the sense of treatment, but not done in the sense of advocacy.”
Since completing treatment, Mitchell-Strong said she has slowed down and learned to prioritize rest and self-care. “I learned to say no and understand that no is a complete sentence,” she said.
This holiday season feels markedly different from the last. “Whereas last year, it was kind of dull,” she said. “So now, I’m actually in the spirit, and I want to experience everything.”
For Jade Strong, the change is measured in presence. “I’m just happy she’s here,” she said. “I’m happy I get to spend it with her.”
Mitchell-Strong said she now shares her story to encourage others facing serious illness to seek support and advocate for themselves. “There are support systems out there, but you have to let them in,” she said.
Reflecting on her diagnosis, she offered a message she hopes resonates with others.
“Initially when I first got the diagnosis of having cancer, I immediately thought that this was a death sentence,” Mitchell-Strong said. “But I can tell you right now, on this day, that I’m here, and I’m alive, and there is hope.”
This reporting is made possible by a grant from the Indianapolis African-American Quality of Life Initiative, empowering our community with essential health insights. https://iaaqli.org/
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
Hanna Rauworth is the Health & Environmental Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, where she covers topics at the intersection of public health, environmental issues, and community impact. With a commitment to storytelling that informs and empowers, she strives to highlight the challenges and solutions shaping the well-being of Indianapolis residents.
