Bianca Harvey opened up to raise awareness about her journey. She also shared personal photos capturing heartfelt moments with her family, who have stood by her side throughout her illness.
Bianca shed light on how her situation unfolded during an April 2025 interview. What started with subtle signs two years ago, quickly turned into something far more serious.
In early 2023, she began feeling mild stomach discomfort. After having fibroids removed just months before, she assumed the pain was part of the healing process. The cramps soon escalated into sharp, stabbing aches that refused to let up.
Despite several visits to the emergency room, doctors could not give her clear answers, suggesting ulcers or GERD, but even an endoscopy revealed nothing.
At the time, Bianca was teaching sixth-grade science in Colonial Heights, Virginia. The pain would hit her so hard, she sometimes stepped out to her car just to cry in private.
One day, as her principal walked in to observe her class, the educator found herself hunched over — unable to stand upright — as she tried to push through the lesson.
That moment in the classroom marked a turning point. Bianca knew she could no longer deal with the pain, so she sat down with her principal and laid everything bare. The teacher explained:
“I was in excruciating pain. I was taking ibuprofen all day. I’d stopped working out. I’d stopped doing all the things I used to do.”
Fitness had once been a core part of her life. She started running at thirteen, later earning a track and field scholarship to Appalachian State University. Over the years, she worked as a personal trainer and kickboxing coach.
Even after giving birth to her daughter Keilani in January 2016, Bianca kept up with body sculpting and training on the side. But her health forced her to step back.
“The pain was so bad,” she shared, “I told my clients, ‘I’m going to take a break until I find out what’s going on.'” Her appetite faded, the weight started dropping, and she knew something was seriously wrong.
Then came June 2023. Bianca’s doctor ordered a CT scan — and the results changed everything. “She called me the next day and said, ‘I know why you’re in excruciating pain. We see a tumor in your stomach. We don’t know if it’s benign or malignant, so now you need to get a colonoscopy,'” recalled the mother of one.
The moment the doctor hung up, Bianca broke down. She picked up the phone and called her mother, sobbing. Without hesitation, her parents jumped in the car and drove 200 miles from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to be by her side.
Bianca braced herself for the next round of tests. The colonoscopy soon followed — and so did the devastating news. The doctors told her:
“You have colon cancer.”
She was just 33 years old at the time, and her daughter Keilani was only seven. The diagnosis raised questions among those close to Bianca, given her strong health history. She said:
“For me to get it so young, everybody was just like, how? But it’s happening to people younger and younger. Early screening is so important.”
After stressing the need for early detection, Bianca’s path led her to a place where answers — and new challenges — awaited. One of her father’s former assistant coaches, who had worked as an oncologist, recommended they head to Duke Health, believing it offered the highest standard of care.
It was there that Bianca discovered her cancer had progressed to stage 4. Her first thought, she recalled, was:
“Am I going to die?”
The difficult news at Duke was met with a plan that gave Bianca a sense of direction. Her oncologist, Dr. Nicholas DeVito, kept a calm tone as he laid out the next steps, “I have a plan and this is what we’re going to do. This is how we’re going to move forward.”
His steady approach brought comfort, especially during moments when the pain medicine left her too foggy to think clearly. During those times, her parents stayed by her side, helping make the choices she couldn’t.
Further tests revealed that the cancer had reached her pancreas, which explained the constant pain. Because of the tumor’s position, surgery wasn’t possible. Dr. DeVito explained that surgical removal was not an option, despite repeated appeals.
Bianca underwent 16 months of chemotherapy, followed by immunotherapy. Dr. DeVito described her treatment journey as difficult, adding:
“What’s particularly impressive about her story is how unbelievably healthy she is overall. This can really happen to anybody.”
While her health had been strong, Bianca’s battle with colon cancer wasn’t the first her family had faced. Her father, a longtime track coach, had been diagnosed with the same disease back in 2019.
At the time, doctors advised that neither Bianca nor her brother needed to be screened until age 37. Her father had undergone surgery, and the tumor was successfully removed.
Medical teams remarked on how healthy he was throughout the process. Now 64, he remains cancer-free. Because of that experience, Bianca initially believed her diagnosis would follow a similar path:
“I’m like, okay, this is just another hurdle because my dad had it. I’ll be fine. I’ll be down for about six, seven weeks like my dad was, and then I’ll be good to go.”
But she soon realized her path would be very different from her father’s. In the early days after her diagnosis, Bianca found herself unable to manage even the simplest tasks.
Though no longer together, her daughter’s father stepped in to help. He checked on her daily and took on responsibilities for their child during the times she was too weak to manage on her own. The single mother recalled the weight of that period:
“It felt like my life was diminishing, like a downward slope.”
As her health declined, managing everyday life became more difficult — not just for Bianca, but for everyone around her. When she began treatment in North Carolina, Keilani initially stayed with her father.
To help manage the load, Bianca’s mother temporarily moved to Virginia to care for the child. Weekends were unpredictable — some spent quietly in Fayetteville with her father, others with family in Virginia. “It was chaotic,” she admitted.
Bianca’s condition worsened. Her mother juggled everything — keeping her daughter engaged, making sure Bianca was cared for, and shielding the child from the worst of it. She revealed:
“I lost a lot of weight. I didn’t look good. But my mom made sure my daughter didn’t see me too bad.”
Amid the physical toll and constant movement between homes, Bianca worked hard to keep her daughter emotionally grounded. From the start, she gently explained her condition to Keilani in simple terms. “‘I’m going to be here for you as much as I can, but mommy is very sick,'” she told her.
She made it clear that outings and certain activities were no longer safe due to her weakened immune system. Every conversation was filled with warmth and care, shaped in a way her daughter could grasp without fear.
The changes were difficult. Keilani, once used to having her mother close, was now often in the care of her grandmother or father. The shift in routine was hard on them both. Bianca shared:
“I love my baby. She’s 9 now. I don’t want her to have to grow without a mom.”
