White Lake native Christina Stark was only 30 years old when she was first diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. She chose to tackle it with chemotherapy, but when she was 39, it returned as metastatic, or stage four, breast cancer. She was told she only had two to five years left to live.
That was eight years ago, and although her disease is still present, she remains optimistic and lives life day by day.
“My diagnosis has taught me a ton,” Stark said. “It’s taught me to not take any days for granted, to live in the moment, to be prepared for the unexpected. It’s also taught me how to slow down and listen to my body. It’s definitely taught me to appreciate more simple things, just daily activities, like going for a walk.”
Chris enjoys living life on the water. She loves her beach days, boat rides, spending time with friends and family, traveling, reading, camping and staying active.
Chris and her family are members of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Whitehall. She finds comfort in her faith and the community she has surrounded herself with there. She has surrounded herself with family and quality friends who help her in many different ways.
“I certainly couldn’t get through this as easily without that (friends and family)," said Stark. “Having a huge support group, knowing that I can call anybody any time we need anything or any time I need a ride to my treatments, is huge. It’s really reassuring to us. We have a large prayer community and that definitely lifts us. Having a huge support group is so helpful emotionally and physically. I have friends that push me. I’m going for a walk today at the Viking Athletic Center. I wouldn’t have done that if it weren’t for my friends encouraging me. There are so many ways they support me, from bringing meals to mailing supportive cards and encouraging me to get moving."
“God is good every day and he gives me strength I need to get through these times,” Chris said in a blog post Oct. 1, 2023 after completing a clinical trial chemo that didn’t give her the results she and her family were hoping for. “We continue to ask for prayers that the treatments do their jobs, and for my husband and kids; these changes are never easy on them.”
After receiving her diagnosis, Chris found creating a blog was a good way to get updates to people in her life and community that she doesn’t necessarily have the time to talk to regularly. Her blog, “Dancing in the Rain,” was inspired by a saying and one of the mottos she now lives by.
“For those who know me well, you know I have two mottos that I live by,” said Stark. “One is to ‘get busy living’ and the other is, ‘Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain.’”
Something that catches the attention of many people who come across Stark’s social media pages is the hashtag “get busy living"; it is attached to almost all of her most recent posts.
“A friend of mine who’s originally from Whitehall was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer just a few months before I was,” Stark said. “Early in our diagnoses, she lived in Kentucky and she mailed me a shirt that said ‘get busy living.’ It was really fitting for where we were both at in our lives. I started hashtagging it in all of my social media posts. So many people wait for retirement to do all the things they want to do, and then don’t get to do them because they don’t live long enough to retire. Having stage four breast cancer teaches you that that day may never come for me, so I’m going to get busy living now.”
Since her diagnosis, Stark has lived out that ethos.
“When I was diagnosed with a terminal illness, I instantly went into survival mode,” said Stark. “I wanted to live every moment as meaningfully as I could. I made my bucket list and immediately started checking items off of it.”
These items included traveling to different countries, doing different fun activities and interestingly, getting a new part-time job that she had always wanted to try - bartending. Stark started tending bar at North Grove Brewers and still does today. She is known by her patrons for her bubbly personality and kind spirit. She said that her boss and coworkers at the brewery have become a second family to her.
“We learn so much about ourselves when we face trying times,” Stark said. “Without a doubt, I would be in a dark place if I didn't have Jesus in my life. I have learned to live for today, this moment, to make it count. To be kind, you never know the battle someone else is facing. To do the things that make you happy and bring you joy, and to get busy living!”
