Breast Cancer Survivor 
Founder: Breast Cancer Partner        

In May of 2008 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Once surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment was over there was no manual, prescription, or remedy to help me recover from the physical, emotional, and mental impact of the experience, nor help me restore myself back to normal, whatever that may be. 

This is the most fabulous time in my life because I have found a “new identity” as a result of my cancer.  I’m creating new opportunities, embarking on a new journey and I feel empowered to take control of my life instead of it controlling me. I am 50 years old, and I feel physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually stronger than ever before because I am a survivor.

In approaching my battle with breast cancer, I chose to be victorious rather than be a victim, and I celebrate each and every day of my life!  That’s why I created the Breast Cancer Partner, an organization that focuses on breast cancer recovery through health and wellness.

Rhonda appeared in the October 2010 issue of More magazine as a first runner-up in the magazine’s contest on “Why this is the Most Fabulous Time in My Life”. She wrote an essay on her breast cancer journey and how she has emerged from that experience with a new identity and sense of purpose. 

With more than 20 years of experience that includes sales and marketing management and learning and development consulting, Rhonda has parlayed her professional and personal experience into a unique skill set that includes marketing/PR, community outreach and recruitment and relationship-building targeting a diverse population of breast cancer survivors.

Rhonda is also the president and founder of Rhegal Consulting, a strategic learning and development consultancy that focuses on enhancing the knowledge skills and capabilities of marketing and sales professionals. Rhonda has broad international consulting experience and has managed client engagements on 5 continents and in more than 20 countries.

Rhonda earned her MBA in marketing and operations management from the Colgate Darden School of Business at theUniversityofVirginiaand her B.S. degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. Rhonda was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Miami/Ft. Lauderdale affiliate.

She is a Leadership Charlotte alumnus, immediate past-chair of the board of The Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade and a member of the American Marketing Association. She is also a member of the CEO Forum of The Commonwealth Institute of South Florida. Rhonda served on the 2007 NFL Super Bowl Special Events Committee and, in 2006, was named one ofSouth Florida’s “25 Most Prominent and Influential African-American

Women by SuccessSouth FloridaMagazine.

Articles by Rhonda Smith

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