Finding Inner Harmony: Music Through My Breast Cancer Journey

It has been a while since my last post — and in that time, life has written a chapter I never could have imagined. In December 2024, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Those words rearranged everything I thought I knew about myself: as a musician, a teacher, and a human being.

In the first days and weeks, I felt an overwhelming mix of fear, disbelief, and determination. I kept thinking, How do I keep playing when I don’t even recognize the rhythm of my own life anymore? But somewhere between the appointments, the treatments, and the quiet moments at the piano, I began to rediscover music in an entirely new way.

Playing — even for a few minutes a day — became a kind of meditation. Each note reminded me that I was still here, still creating sound, still part of something larger than my diagnosis.

This became the seed of Inner Harmony, a project I co-created with mindfulness teacher Jesika Harmon. It merges my original piano music with spoken meditations — reflections that grew out of my experience learning to live, heal, and create through uncertainty. The album became not only a work of art, but also a reminder that music is not just what we perform, but what sustains us.

Through it all, teaching remained my constant source of light. I often call it “Vitamin M”. My students gave me purpose and perspective, and reminded me daily that teaching isn’t only about piano. It’s about discovery, creativity, and connection. It’s inherently positive — a reminder that even in the hardest times, there is joy in learning, and beauty in sharing it.

I’ll be posting more reflections in the coming weeks — about what this journey has taught me about performance, resilience, and the power of sound to heal from the inside out. My hope is that these stories will offer a bit of encouragement to anyone facing their own difficult passages, both on and off the stage.

Because as I’ve learned: even when life changes key, the music goes on.