Cancer-Free and Serving: Reona Burnett's Healing Journey

When breast cancer struck Reona Burnett just weeks after launching her nonprofit, she wanted to give up. Instead, she built a mobile shower unit and kept serving people experiencing homelessness in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Burnett runs Boots on the Ground, an outreach program providing food, clothing, showers, and hygiene items to unhoused neighbors across the city. Her diagnosis came in 2023, right as the nonprofit was getting off the ground.

"Once we found out about the breast cancer, I wanted to stop," Burnett said. But she and her husband Eric made a different choice.

They transformed an unused trailer into a mobile pantry and shower unit. While Burnett underwent cancer treatment, the couple worked side by side, pouring everything into creating a way to bring help directly to those who needed it most.

"We decided that we'll do service over self," Burnett said. "I stayed focused on trying to serve others and not work on my diagnosis."

Helping others became her lifeline during treatment. Showing up for her community gave Burnett something to hold onto when everything felt uncertain.

"I wanted to be a beacon of hope," she said. "The only way I could do that was to continue to show up."

Today, Burnett is cancer-free. But ringing the bell at her last treatment wasn't the end of her journey.

Sunny's Take

What makes Burnett's story truly powerful is what she learned after surviving. When her brother passed away earlier this year, grief finally taught her something cancer couldn't: she deserved the same kindness she showed others.

"After my brother passed, I started being kind to myself because I was not kind to myself when I was diagnosed," Burnett said. "Now I'm taking time to be kind to me, to be gentle to me, to love me."

She's now speaking openly about life after treatment, reminding others that it's okay not to be okay even after you survive. Healing doesn't end with a clean scan. It continues in how we treat ourselves every day after.

Through Boots on the Ground, Burnett keeps showing up for her community. And now, she's finally showing up for herself too, proving that true strength includes knowing when to extend yourself the same grace you give everyone else.

#