Life After Cancer: Shay Moraga on Survivorship, Loneliness, and Building Shay’s Warriors

After cancer treatment ends, many survivors are told to celebrate and move on — but the emotional aftermath is often far more complicated. In this episode of The SEAM Podcast, Amy Cohen Epstein sits down with Shay Moraga, founder of Shay’s Warriors, to explore the rarely discussed reality of life after cancer.

Diagnosed with stage III triple-negative breast cancer at just 38, Shay shares how subtle symptoms were dismissed, how survivorship brought unexpected loneliness, and how that experience led her to create a community focused on healing beyond treatment. Together, Amy and Shay discuss fear of recurrence, identity after illness, accountability, and why collaboration is essential in women’s health and cancer advocacy.

Amy Cohen Epstein: I’m really excited to talk to you today, Shay. Let’s jump right in. Tell me about what led you to create Shay’s Warriors: Life After Cancer. We hear a lot about the treatment phase, but far less about what happens afterward.

Shay Moraga: Thank you for having me. You’re exactly right — everyone has a cancer story, but very few people talk about what comes next. I was 38 years old when I was diagnosed with stage III triple-negative breast cancer. I’d never had a mammogram because at that time they started at 45. I didn’t have a direct family history, so my first mammogram was actually how I found out I had cancer.

Amy: So your first mammogram was your diagnosis.

Shay: Yes. Looking back, there were signs — an itch that wouldn’t go away, changes in my menstrual cycle — but everything kept getting dismissed. I was told I was too young. … [ellipsis indicates condensed repetition about early dismissal]

Amy: Unfortunately, that’s a story we hear all the time.

Shay: Exactly. When I finally insisted on being seen, the imaging showed a highly vascular mass. Within days, I was diagnosed. By February 11, 2016, I had triple-negative breast cancer. That year included 20 rounds of chemo, 38 rounds of radiation, and surgery. It was humbling. You realize very quickly that you are not in control — you just want to live and see your family again.

Amy: That loss of control is profound.

Shay: It is. But what surprised me most was what happened after. When the doctor finally said, “You’re NED — no evidence of disease,” everyone celebrated. And then… three months later, I was back in the scan room, terrified. Every ache felt like cancer returning. That’s when I realized: there is almost no support for life after cancer.

Amy: And it’s hard to voice that fear to the people closest to you. You don’t want to scare them or seem ungrateful.

Shay: Exactly. As women, we’re wired to take care of everyone else. When we need care, it feels unnatural. That’s where Shay’s Warriors was born — out of that gap.

Amy: Tell me about how the organization took shape.

Shay: During treatment, I had started a blog. I thought, if I don’t survive, at least my truth will live somewhere. After treatment, that blog evolved into a focus on survivorship. A friend of mine — now my co-founder — had experienced the same loneliness years earlier. We realized this wasn’t just us. So we built Shay’s Warriors around three pillars: mindset, movement, and connection.

Amy: Walk me through those.

Shay: Talk List & Share focuses on education and mindset. Move to Heal offers complimentary movement classes — yoga, Pilates, spin — led by instructors who understand survivorship. And Coffee & Connections is our emotional support and accountability space. That accountability piece matters — are you taking care of yourself? Are you still getting your screenings?

Amy: That’s so important. Survivorship isn’t avoidance — it’s engagement.

Shay: Exactly. We don’t pretend cancer didn’t happen. We integrate it, without letting it control us.

Amy: What do you personally hold onto when fear creeps back in?

Shay: I hold onto the fact that I get a second life. And I don’t want anyone else to feel as alone as I did. When survivors find us, they find people who get it — no explanations required. That shared understanding is everything.

Amy: You’ve built something extraordinary. Do you ever stop and see the scale of it?

Shay: Honestly, not often. We’ve supported thousands of women globally, hosted retreats, provided thousands of movement classes — but to me, it’s about one woman feeling less alone. That’s success.

Amy: Collaboration clearly matters deeply to you.

Shay: It has to. Competition doesn’t serve survivors. Collaboration creates change.

Amy: How can people find Shay’s Warriors?

Shay: Our website is shayswarriors.org, and we’re active on social media. We want survivors to see color again — life after cancer can still be beautiful.

Amy: Thank you for sharing your story so honestly. This conversation fills a gap so many women don’t even have language for yet.

Shay: Thank you for giving us the space to talk about it.

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length, clarity, and readability.