To celebrate the end of cancer treatments, one Charlotte survivor is doing two things

Ringing the bell is monumental in any cancer patient’s journey. That sound rang through the halls of Charlotte’s Levine Cancer Institute last Monday as 31-year-old Brittany Yokley marked the end of her breast cancer treatment.

But the bigger celebration will come this weekend: Yokley will walk in the 24 Hours of Booty, a cycling and walking fundraising event that benefits the 24 Foundation. Beginning Friday at 7 p.m. until 7 p.m. Saturday, teams and individuals will circle the 2.8-mile Myers Park Booty Loop to support the nonprofit committed to helping patients navigate their cancer journey and improve their quality of life.

Upon approaching the end of her 18 months of treatment, Yokley wanted to give back to other cancer patients in her community. She first heard about the 24 Hours of Booty from her occupational oncology therapist, Brittany Lorden. Only after that conversation did Yokley realize how connected the event and organization were to her and other cancer patients’ recovery.

A new job turned her world upside down

A Virginia Beach native, Yokley studied dance in college in New York City before moving to Charlotte in 2016. Two years later, she married her husband, Tyler, and soon after began pursuing an MBA.

In August 2021, Yokley changed jobs to work at Passport, a software company that helps cities manage curb space. A new job meant new insurance. And new insurance meant new doctors and filling her calendar with appointments.

When Yokley visited her new gynecologist for the first time, the doctor felt a lump during her breast exam and advised her to get it checked out. At her diagnostic mammogram a few weeks later, the radiologist told her, “This doesn’t look good.”

Yokley was diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer at 30 years old.

Triple-positive breast cancer occurs when tumor cells have three types of receptors: estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and a larger than normal number of HER2 receptors. These types of receptors control how the cells grow and divide. Too many can cause cells to multiple too quickly, become uncontrolled and lead to a tumor. While it is more aggressive than other breast cancers, triple-positive reportedly responds well to hormone therapy, according to Penn Medicine.

Yokley found out the shocking news four days before Christmas 2021. The median age at the time of a breast cancer diagnosis is 62, according to American Cancer Society, and Yokley has no family history of breast cancer.

Her cancer being HER2-positive meant Yokley needed chemotherapy. She began treatment at Levine Cancer Institute the following February. After four rounds of TCHP chemo — an acronym for a combination of drugs used to treat certain cancers — Yokley had a lumpectomy followed by four weeks of radiation and 14 rounds of targeted chemotherapy to lessen the chance of recurrence. That final round of targeted chemo was July 17.

Yearning to maintain a sense of normalcy

Because of chemotherapy and radiation, Yokley lost her hair. People knew she was sick, but she wanted more than anything for life to go on as normal.

Instead of receiving casserole dishes and care packages, Yokley and her husband continued attending barbecues with their friends — so long as her strength allowed.

Levine’s integrative services — such as acupuncture and oncological massage — made that possible for Yokley. The 24 Foundation supports these programs, which are not generally covered by insurance, so that patients can afford them at a subsidized rate.

“It was striking how much I had benefited from the services that (the 24 Foundation) was providing that I had no idea about,” Yokley says.

Brittany’s support system and fundraising success

That prompted Yokley to organize a fundraising team at her work for the 24 Hours of Booty. When friends and family have wanted to support her cancer journey, Yokley encouraged them to support an organization that has been integral to her recovery.

“Navigation and integrated services are two highlights (of cancer treatment) that people don’t know much about but have been so important for me,” she says.

Her team raised more than $33,000 — making them among the top six fundraisers for the event this year. Between individual, team and corporate benefactors, over $1.3 million will be donated to the 24 Foundation, according to their website.

Yokley and her loved ones, colleagues and care team — along with fellow participants and spectators — will celebrate that fundraising feat for 24 hours along the Booty Loop and in Bootyville, the home-base and party place for the event where people rest and camp out.

Yokley most looks forward to the Survivor Lap — where all cancer survivors take a lap around the Booty Loop to kick off the event.

“I am so excited to be surrounded by other survivors … (for us) to be rejuvenated altogether,” Yokley says.

The sound of the starting horn for the Survivor Lap will be like a second ringing of the bell for Yokley. Her connection to the 24 Foundation has grown stronger since realizing its impact on the community, and the timing of it all has brought Yokley’s story full circle.

“Everything has felt perfectly aligned,” she says.