Sharon Belvin is a 37-year-old mother of 2 and a stage 4 melanoma survivor. Cancer, however, isn’t her whole story; just a key player in an absolutely fantastic life. She had a “normal” happy childhood in Beachwood, New Jersey. She loved sports, goofing off with friends and family, and never had any serious injuries or illnesses. However, when she turned 22 in 2004 that normalcy abruptly ended. She found out that she had stage 4 melanoma just 2 weeks before she was set to marry her now ex-husband, Rob. Through the next 1.5 years that she and Rob actively fought cancer, they learned to never take a day for granted and that life is precious and far too short. Though they are now separated, they still remain friends and are both very grateful for the lessons that cancer taught them.
It has now been almost 15 years since her diagnosis and life sure didn’t turn out the way she thought it would. From the time she was 7 years old she thought that she was going to be a school teacher. Instead, through her own weight loss journey, after the birth of her 2 children, she became a personal trainer and health coach for a hospital system. It was there that she met her now-fiancée, Janice. Talk about a life-stopping moment. She thought cancer would be the biggest life-altering event that she would experience, well … she was wrong. Finding out that you fall in love with the person and not a gender altered her perception of life irrevocably.
“Cancer shaped me into a person that tries to live each day as if it very well could be my last,” says Sharon. She would never change the fact she got cancer. She just NEVER wants to have to learn the lessons that cancer taught her ever again.
Learn more about Sharon’s incredible journey in the award-winning documentary Jim Allison: Breakthrough.
