Model diagnosed with aggressive cancer after finding lump while shaving

Alison McCullough was in the best shape of her life when she noticed a bump under her arm while shaving. She was due to appear as a model at New York Fashion Week in September 2025, so she had spent the last few months focusing on her physique. He knew his body well and knew what such a bulge could mean.

McCullough, then 39, wanted to get checked, but getting care proved harder than she expected: When the American Cancer Society recommended that women start getting regular mammograms, her mobile mammography provider turned her away because she wasn’t 40. She needed a referral from her primary care provider, but the wait for an appointment was long. There weren’t many options in his home state of Alaska.

“I had to jump through hoops,” McCullough said. “It’s a pretty long process when you feel like time is of the essence.”

While he waited, McCullough tried to avoid looking at worst-case scenarios. Her appearance at New York Fashion Week was “a huge distraction”. Eventually, about two months after finding the lump, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

“I was shocked, and every time I got new information, it was worse information. I went from ‘Yes, you have breast cancer’ to ‘It’s an invasive cancer and you have the BRCA-2 gene and your cancer is triple negative, which means it’s harder to treat,'” McCullough said. “In my mind… I thought they were going to cut it off and I’d be on my way. But then I found out, no, you need chemo, you’re going to lose all your hair, and it just got worse. ‘Am I ever going to get any good news?’ “I felt like that.”

A scary diagnosis

D., director of breast cancer clinical research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. McCullough was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, which accounts for 10% to 15% of all breast cancer cases, Erica Mayer said. Mayer was not involved in McCullough’s care.

Triple negative means the cancer is negative for three different receptors: estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and HER2 receptors. Knowing which receptors a tumor is positive or negative for allows doctors to tailor treatments specifically to those targets, Mayer said.

A triple-negative tumor has no receptors, so it cannot be treated with most targeted therapies. Instead, patients may try traditional methods such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, or newer approaches such as immunotherapy and targeted chemotherapy delivery drugs called antibody drug conjugates. Mayer said advances in treatment mean “our patients are doing better today than ever before and have a much better chance of surviving their disease.”

Still, McCullough was dismayed to learn that treatment options were more limited than she thought. He later learned that the infusion center where he would begin receiving chemotherapy would not be able to see him for more than a month. After delaying diagnosis, he feared that waiting any longer would be fatal.

“I was sitting there and my husband said, ‘This cancer is growing. It’s been over a month. You’re still not on schedule,'” McCullough recalled. The pair decided it was time to “start thinking further afield.”

“I hung in there”

McCullough and her husband began researching other options and learned about City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment organization with facilities in four states. McCullough called the organization’s Phoenix, Arizona, office on Friday and was expected to wait days for a response. But he heard back within a few hours.

“They said, ‘If you can get here by Wednesday of next week, we’ll get our entire team together with you and come up with a plan and get you started right away,'” McCullough recalled. “So two days later my husband and I were on the plane.”

McCullough met with the oncology team at City of Hope, and the team agreed with the treatment plan developed by his oncologist in Alaska. All of his appointments would be at one facility, which would not be the case in Alaska. McCullough said it was refreshing not to be “wandering around in the snow and ice trying to find every appointment.”

Instead of waiting weeks, it only took “a few days” for him to begin treatment. The six-month regimen included two types of chemotherapy. He said the first three months had very few side effects, but the next three months “slowed it down a little bit.”

“I had a hard time understanding what it was like to have a weak immune system. But I endured,” McCullough said. “I was preparing for Fashion Week before, but I had something bigger to fight for. It was good that I came out of my cancer journey so strong.”

“A big win” and “the best news”

McCullough finished chemotherapy in March. That alone, he said, “feels like a big win, because not everyone gets to go all the way.” To prevent recurrence, their doctor recommended a double mastectomy. McCullough underwent the procedure in late April. He was still warned that he might need radiation or long-term oral chemotherapy, but in May his oncologist gave him some surprising news: McCullough was cancer-free.

“That was the best news,” McCullough said.

This turning point allowed McCullough to begin reconstructive surgery. He was eventually able to return home, too: He arrived back in Alaska in early June, just in time to celebrate his son’s 12th birthday.

McCullough said spending time with his family is his top priority while he recovers. He also plans to get back into the gym and even return to the podiums, where he hopes to share his story.

“I see the shine of fashion shows and shows again in my future!” McCullough said. “These things allow me to be physically responsible, but they also give me a way to share my story with the next person who needs hope.”