This is Meghan Koziel and her daughter, Kendra Jane, who was born in September.
Koziel was diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer in 2015 at 26 — and underwent a double mastectomy, twelve rounds of chemotherapy, and extensive breast reconstruction surgery, an experience she has shared with her Instagram followers from the beginning.
Koziel's determination to share her journey became even stronger two years later when, after six months of trying to conceive naturally — including halting all medications — she and her husband John discovered she was pregnant.
Koziel told BuzzFeed that she had a little help coming up with the idea to hang a "no breastfeeding zone" banner in the delivery room to alert hospital staff that she would be formula feeding her baby due to her mastectomy.
Koziel's nurses and doctors loved the banner...and so did her Instagram followers, who have shared it in droves.
Koziel said that she was surprised by the attention her Instagram post has received, and that since it has gone viral, she's received both positive and negative responses.
But the attention her story has generated is overwhelmingly good, Koziel said, and for every handful of negative comments, there have been thousands of positive ones.
