Two cancer-care colleagues spent years helping patients. Then they needed each other.

For four years, Karen Grant and Rosa Somsky worked across the hall, helping people navigate cancer at the Freytag Cancer Center at AdventHealth Palm Coast.

Then, within weeks of each other, they became cancer patients themselves.

Grant, a social worker at the cancer center, was diagnosed on Jan. 9. Later that month, Somsky, a breast care navigator who first faced breast cancer nearly 28 years earlier, learned she had breast cancer again.

Both were diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma.

While they were accustomed to helping patients through cancer, they now faced the unusual experience of becoming patients where they worked - while wanting to preserve some privacy from the people they served.

They found solace in each other.

"We shared experiences that no one else would be able to understand," Grant said.

Grant's path to diagnosis began with a routine mammogram in May 2025. It found no cancer but noted that she had dense breasts and suggested additional screening. Because Grant's mother had breast cancer, Anne Rhoton, a family medicine nurse practitioner at AdventHealth Primary Care in Palm Coast, encouraged her to follow up.

A breast MRI in November identified a small suspicious mass, and an MRI-guided biopsy in January confirmed it was cancer.

Shiv Desai, MD, a radiation oncologist at AdventHealth Palm Coast, said dense breasts are common, but breast density can make some cancers more difficult to detect on a mammogram.

"Karen's situation is a good example of when to have a conversation with your physician about supplemental screening," said Dr. Desai. "When dense breasts are combined with other risk factors such as family history, a breast MRI may be appropriate. It is important to discuss the benefits and risks with your physician."

As Grant began figuring out what came next, Somsky was quietly going through a diagnostic process of her own.

When Grant needed to see a surgeon, Somsky offered to drive her, and the two jokingly called the trip their "Thelma and Louise" road trip. Somsky later helped Grant connect with a medical oncologist and went with her to that appointment, too.

The same day Grant learned she would need chemotherapy, Somsky told her she had breast cancer again.

"We were a mess but found comfort in knowing we were not alone," Grant said.

Somsky's recurrence began with something she noticed herself: what looked like a pimple or small lump near her reconstructed left breast, nearly three decades after her first breast cancer diagnosis in 1998.

Steven Bower, MD, a general surgeon at AdventHealth Palm Coast, ordered additional imaging. Somsky attempted a breast MRI but said anxiety prevented her from completing it. She instead underwent a mammogram, ultrasound and PET scan. A biopsy confirmed cancer had returned.

Because of her previous reconstruction, Somsky said her surgery required additional planning. Dr. Bower worked with Richard Cashio, MD, a plastic surgeon and AdventHealth Palm Coast's chief of surgery, to remove the tumor.

She underwent surgery April 2, followed by 28 radiation treatments. Chemotherapy was also recommended. After considering her options, Somsky chose a treatment plan that did not include it.

Because Grant's diagnosis included triple positive breast prognostic markers, her treatment included surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy infusions, radiation, and oral hormone-blocking medication.

Both women kept working through much of their treatment, texting and calling each other. When they crossed paths in the cancer center, they high-fived.

That suited Grant, who describes herself as more of a high-fiver than a hugger. Somsky is the opposite.

"Karen approached her journey with such grace, while I was more emotional and vocal about every step," Somsky said. "We are very different people, but those differences helped us balance each other and made it easier to be there for one another in the way each of us needed."

Becoming patients in the same place where they worked meant navigating two roles at once. They wanted to continue caring for patients without making their own cancer diagnoses part of those relationships.

Grant does not routinely tell patients about her own diagnosis. She also did not want to encounter her patients while she was receiving treatment herself. Her radiation appointments at AdventHealth Palm Coast were scheduled early in the morning, while she chose to receive chemotherapy at AdventHealth Daytona Beach.

Somsky's radiation appointments were also scheduled early, giving her more privacy as she continued working.

They could keep that part of their lives separate from patients without having to explain it to each other. Across the hall was someone who already understood.

When chemotherapy caused Grant to lose her long hair, she struggled to find scarves, hats or wigs that made her feel like herself.

With support from the AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation, the Judith C. Mako Resource Center helped her get a customized wig that closely resembled her natural hair.

"It gave me the confidence I needed to know I could make it and the hope that I would be myself again," Grant said.

Radiation brought Somsky anxiety, fatigue and skin irritation, but continuing to work gave her a sense of normalcy.

"Caring for my patients gave me purpose," Somsky said.

For Grant, radiation treatments brought another reminder that she was now the patient.

Because treatment involved her left breast, she had to hold her breath during portions of each session. Through the intercom, coworkers she trusted told her when she could let go: "And breathe."

"It meant a lot to know the ones that held my heart in their hands were two coworker friends that I trusted with my life," Grant said.

By June, Grant and Somsky were both approaching the end of treatment and decided they would mark it together.

On June 25, surrounded by coworkers at the Freytag Cancer Center, they held a pizza party to thank their care team and then rang the bell side-by-side, a tradition marking the completion of cancer treatment.

"It helped to have Rosa there to bear witness, support and most of all to make me laugh," Grant said.

"So many people were there when we rang the bell," Somsky said. "It was overwhelming, emotional and beautiful."

On Oct. 4, Somsky rang a bell again.

At the Pink Army 5K, hosted by the AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation and the City of Palm Coast, Somsky helped start the race and then became the first survivor to ring the event's survivor bell. The event drew a record 1,300 registered participants.

Funds raised help qualified Flagler County residents access breast cancer screenings, diagnostic testing and education they may not otherwise be able to afford.

Since 2010, Pink Army fundraising through the AdventHealth Palm Coast Foundation has helped nearly 800 patients receive more than 1,000 screening and diagnostic procedures, one way the not-for-profit hospital works to reduce barriers to care in the community.

"I am so proud to ring the bell again for the second time," Somsky said. "I will keep fighting."

For Somsky, the bell she rang beside Grant marked the end of one chapter they had traveled together. At the Pink Army 5K, she rang another bell, connecting their shared experience with survivors who were beginning, continuing or celebrating milestones in journeys of their own.