A woman has survived cancer an incredible six times, after originally worrying she wouldn’t live to see the year out.
Liz Benditt has managed to beat melanoma, thyroid cancer, basal cell carcinoma and two rounds of breast cancer, despite the odds being stacked against her.
The 53-year-old had two young children when she was first diagnosed, which led her to “panic”.
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Doctors told her that if the melanoma spread, she likely had less than a year to live.
But a decade on, after five more terrifying diagnoses, Liz has lived to tell the tale – and is even running half marathons and staying in “great health”.
It’s a far cry from the limited time she thought she would have – and it has given Liz a new lease of life.
“I’ve survived the un-survivable repeatedly, and I don’t take a single day for granted,” Liz, who lives in Overland Park, Kansas, US, told Need To Know.
“I’m grateful every day.
“My health is great right now – I ran my second half marathon last year, and I still run with my friends every weekend.
“I’m monitored like crazy, and see my endocrinologist four times a year, my oncologist twice a year, my dermatologist twice a year, and get breast scans on my remaining breast twice a year.
“I still get frustrated by some of the side effects of medication and ageing – I once threw my back out blow-drying my hair, which was as painful as it was frustrating.
“But overall, I’ve been told I have excellent heart health, and I focus on building muscle alongside cardio.
“Honestly, I don’t take my health for granted.
“Though I still enjoy margaritas and chocolate – everything in moderation!”
Liz was first diagnosed with melanoma [skin cancer] in 2009, when she was raising her daughter Eve, then three, and son Alex, just one at the time, with husband Dave, and had just started a new role working as vice president of marketing at a commercial finance company.
It came after her mother had noticed a ‘suspicious’ mole on her leg while at the swimming pool.
Liz said: “She nagged me relentlessly to get it checked out.
“I totally ignored her at first but she was persistent, and I finally went to the dermatologist to get her to leave me alone.
“Little did I know that she saved my life.”
The diagnosis came as a shock for the mum-of-two.
Liz said: “I felt panic.
“I had a lot to live for – and then I was diagnosed with melanoma.
“I was told that, if it had spread, I likely had less than a year to live – and if it hadn’t spread, it was no big deal and I just needed to wear more sunscreen.
“That range of ‘you’ll probably die within the year’ to ‘you’ll be fine’ is a terrifying place to sit while you wait for answers, particularly with two babies at home.
“Because of the size of it, my age and general good health, I was fast-tracked – less than four days passed between diagnosis and surgery, which included a lymph node biopsy in my groin.
“It was every bit as hideous as it sounds.”
While the initial surgery to cut out the melanoma from her upper thigh, it was just the start of a more than decade-long journey.
A year after her melanoma diagnosis, in 2010 Liz discovered she also had thyroid cancer, which she had a thyroidectomy for.
In 2015, basal cell carcinoma was found in her nose, leading to facial surgery to remove the melanoma, and plastic surgery to cover the missing skin on her nose with her own facial skin.
Two years later, she was devastated to be diagnosed with breast cancer in her left breast, leading to a lumpectomy followed by 35 rounds of radiation, and in 2023 cancer was found in her right breast too, leading to a single mastectomy and diep flap surgery to recreate the breast using lower belly skin and fat.
In 2024, melanoma was found again – this time in her right calf – leading to surgery to remove the cancer.
Liz was finally declared ‘no evidence of disease’ in 2025, and ran a half marathon to celebrate.
After all she has been through, Liz turned her experience into launching a company to help benefit other people living with cancer – creating The Balm Box, a treatment-specific care package company, in 2020.
She launched it after conducting research with more than 500 cancer patients, with the boxes designed around what a specific treatment actually puts the patient through – whether that’s chemotherapy, radiation, or breast surgery.
Liz said: “I knew first-hand that most ‘get well’ gifts, like flowers and fruit baskets, miss what people actually need during treatment.
“No one needs another ‘fight like a girl’ T-shirt – they need a seatbelt pillow, aluminium-free deodorant, and a lip balm that doesn’t burn chemo-cracked lips.”
Curated comforts like this can make all the difference, according to Liz, particularly when the every day troubles of life continue even with a diagnosis – or six.
She added: “Beating cancer six times doesn’t mean life stops handing you things to deal with.
“It just means I’ve gotten better at not letting any of it – big or small – knock me down for long.
“I feel optimistic and motivated about the future.
“Every diagnosis taught me something that I’ve turned into fuel – whether that’s for my own health, or for my business.
“I don’t know what’s ahead, but I’ve learned I can handle more than I ever thought possible – and that’s a pretty steady place to build from.”
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