I Survived Cancer. Then I Lost My Job. Here’s How I Built My Comeback
There are moments in life that divide everything into before and after.
For me, that moment came during what I thought was a routine doctor’s visit when my doctor felt something suspicious. Within weeks, I went from living a full, fast-paced life to undergoing a seven-hour surgery, where my doctor discovered ovarian cancer and performed a complete hysterectomy.
Thankfully, it was caught so early and they got all the cancer. I was one of the lucky ones, as ovarian cancer is among the most deadly. The experience forced me to slow down in a way I never had before. It stripped away distractions and brought one question into focus: What really matters?
As I worked through recovery, I started to regain my strength and clarity. Then, just as life began to feel stable again, I faced another unexpected shock. I lost my job.
In a short period of time, my health, career and sense of identity were shaken. But looking back now, those moments didn’t define me. They redirected me.
They led me to build a business, a purpose-driven career and a leadership philosophy rooted in resilience, authenticity and connection.
When Everything Falls Apart, Clarity Begins
Adversity has a way of forcing clarity. When you’re faced with uncertainty, you quickly learn what truly matters: your time, your energy, your relationships and your purpose.
Before my diagnosis, I had built a successful career in journalism and public relations. I was moving quickly, focused on growth and achievement. But I hadn’t stopped to ask whether everything I was building aligned with the life I wanted.
Cancer changed that.
It forced me to slow down, reflect and reassess. And when I lost my job after, I had a decision to make: rebuild the same path I was on or create something entirely new.
I chose to start over, not because I had a perfect plan, but because I had clarity.
Starting Before You Feel Ready
In 2016, with encouragement from my husband and a mentor who believed in me enough to invest in my vision, I launched Mekky Media from my dining room table.
I wasn’t fully recovered. I didn’t have all the answers. But I had something more important: determination, a strong network and a clear sense of purpose.
I started small. I reached out to contacts. I took on projects. I focused on delivering results and building relationships. One opportunity led to another.
Momentum doesn’t always happen overnight. It builds through consistency, relationships and trust.
Too often, leaders wait until everything feels perfect before taking action. But growth rarely begins in a place of certainty. It begins in motion.
Redefining Success on Your Own Terms
Building a business while recovering from cancer forced me to redefine success.
Success was no longer about working nonstop or doing everything myself. It became about sustainability, balance and impact.
I had to listen to my body. I had to set boundaries. I had to build a team I trusted and let go of the idea that I needed to control every detail.
That shift didn’t just improve my life. It strengthened my business.
Today, I often remind leaders that growth is not just about scaling faster. It is about building something that can last.
The Role Of Authenticity In Leadership
One of the most important lessons I learned during that time was the power of authenticity.
As a former journalist, I’ve always believed in the importance of storytelling. But building my own company showed me something deeper. People don’t connect with perfection. They connect with truth.
When I began to share my story openly, it didn’t weaken my credibility. It strengthened it. It gave people a reason to trust me, relate to me and believe in the work we were doing.
That same principle applies to leadership.
Your story, even the difficult parts, can become your greatest asset if you are willing to own it.
Actionable lessons for leaders navigating change
If you are facing a transition, setback or moment of uncertainty, here are a few lessons that helped me rebuild and continue to guide how I lead today:
Let challenges clarify your direction
Difficult moments often reveal what matters most. Use them as an opportunity to reassess and realign.
Take action before you feel ready
You do not need a perfect plan to move forward. Progress starts with one step.
Build relationships, not just results
Your network, your team and your community will carry you further than any strategy alone.
Define success for yourself
Sustainable growth looks different for everyone. Create a version of success that supports your life, not just your career.
Lead with authenticity
Your story is powerful. When you share it honesty, you create connection, trust and impact.
Turning setbacks into a foundation for growth
What began as one of the most difficult seasons of my life became the foundation for everything I have built since.
The business I launched during that time has grown into a growing agency with clients across the country. More importantly, it is a company rooted in purpose, resilience and meaningful connection.
Looking back, cancer and job loss felt like devastating setbacks. In reality, they pushed me to take a risk I might have otherwise delayed. They forced me to trust myself and step into a new chapter.
Every leader will face moments that test them. Moments that feel uncertain, overwhelming or even unfair.
Those moments do not have to define you. But they can shape you.
The question is whether you are willing to take that first step forward, even when the path is not fully clear, and trust that it will lead you exactly where you are meant to go.
More about Michelle
Michelle Mekky is a veteran, award-winning broadcast journalist and public relations executive, and the founder and CEO of Mekky Media Relations, Inc., a boutique PR agency with clients in Chicago and coast to coast. She began her career as an overnight newswriter for the morning shows at Fox-TV in Chicago, before eventually growing to become Senior Producer, overseeing all morning show content. After 12 years in the media, she transitioned into PR and marketing, working at top agencies prior to launching Mekky Media in 2016 after she survived ovarian cancer. The agency partners with organizations across a broad range of verticals, including nonprofits, technology, healthcare, restaurants, retail, fitness, financial services B2B and more.
Michelle leads a team of experienced PR professionals who help clients tell their stories, reach new audiences and fuel growth through PR strategy, media relations, media training, social media strategy, integrated digital and PR programs and personal branding. Building on nearly a decade of growth and demand for executive coaching, Michelle also recently launched Elevated by Mekky Media, a sister company specializing in personalized media training, public speaking coaching and executive presence development for leaders and teams.
Michelle and Mekky Media have been widely recognized for their success, earning multiple Gold and Silver Stevie Awards between 2018 and 2023, a PR News Top 100 Agency Elite Award, recognition as one of Expertise PR’s Best Chicago PR Firms and several Publicity Club of Chicago Gold and Silver Trumpet Awards. Michelle has also received numerous individual honors, including being named one of the 2025 100 Women to KNOW in America, PRSA Chicago’s 2023 Professional of the Year, the 2023 Daily Herald Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, a 2021 Ragan and PR Daily Communicator of the Year Award, a 2020 PR News Top Women in PR honor, a 2019 Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Entrepreneur recognition and the 2018 Bronze Stevie Award for Women in Business.
Michelle is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council, Forbes Agency Council, WBENC and the International Public Relations Network, where she serves as North American regional chair and a member of the Executive Committee. A Forbes blogger and motivational speaker, she is also a cancer survivor, a spokesperson for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition and serves on the board of the Business Executives Association and the Strategic Advancement Committee for Start Early. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University’s renowned Medill School of Journalism. The daughter of immigrants, she is the first-generation in her family to go to college. Michelle also is most proud of being a mother to her children Adam and Hannah, who are getting ready to launch their own careers as they finish college and graduate school.