Dana Donofree

Diagnosis Stage: Early-Stage

Philadelphia, PA

Dana Donofree was just months away from marrying her fiancé Paul, and at the start of a successful career in fashion, when cancer forced her to “hit pause and prepare for the battle of (her) life.” That’s because the day before her 28th birthday she was diagnosed with infiltrative ductal carcinoma, HER2-Positive, ER+ breast cancer. Over the next year, she underwent a bilateral mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and a grueling regimen of chemotherapy.

“It came in waves, both buoyant and exasperating,” she says. Her wedding was celebrated a year after the original date. She got back to work. Slowly, she began to build her self-esteem, which felt “damaged from her experience”. In lieu of nipple reconstruction, she decided to make a statement with a Tree of Life tattoo she designed. As she began to heal and reclaim her body, she was met with a hurdle she simply did not see coming: her lingerie drawer.

She was told by doctors she would never be able to wear traditional lingerie again; conventional bras or items with bra cups would not fit her body properly. Annoyed, slightly devastated and incredibly frustrated by the lack of options, Dana did what she had been doing for the past year. She got motivated and took control and created AnaOno, a line of lingerie designed specifically to address the needs of women impacted by breast cancer.

Dana is the epitome of the AnaOno woman. Strong, beautiful, sexy, courageous, determined, grateful and excited for life. She will never stop until she instills these qualities in those she meets through her various charitable contributions, breast cancer events and customer base. As Dana says, “with AnaOno, you are never alone.”