Kelsey Halley was 30 years old and joyfully 33 weeks pregnant with her first child when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, nearly three years later, she’s a “cancer warrior” who is leading a team in the Oct. 15 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk at Newport News Park to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

In December 2020, Kelsey, previously an emergency room nurse, had just switched to a day job in the cancer center lab at Riverside Walter Reed when she found a lump in her left breast. She told her OBGYN doctor about it, went for an ultrasound and a biopsy, and was told there were “concerning features” about the lump. The news came three days before Christmas, and her merchant mariner husband, Forrest, was out to sea.

“It was a really tough time,” said Kelsey.

The cancer team at Walter Reed wanted to start treatment as soon as possible, so they began running all the preliminary tests and scheduling appointments with doctors right away.

Kelsey’s pare...