Toni Dezomits is used to facing death. She served in the Gulf War and later as a police officer, becoming a police chief in North Carolina before retiring. She says she doesn’t need any pity for her diagnosis of advanced ovarian cancer.
“I’m probably the toughest person you’re ever going to meet,” says Dezomits. At 55, she still feels mentally tough and physically prime despite her Stage 4 diagnosis.
“When we’re done talking, I’m going to go on a 10-mile bike ride,” she says, followed by gardening and walks with her three dogs. “I don’t ever sit around and go, ‘How long do people live with this cancer?'”
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