At just 24 years old, Sara Durante’s life was supposed to be just beginning. She and her husband, Alex, had recently discovered they were expecting their first child. It was a time for dreams, not diagnoses. But at a routine 12-week ultrasound, joy turned to fear. There was no heartbeat. Instead, doctors found a 20-centimeter tumor on Sara’s right ovary, a germ cell tumor that would redefine everything.

In a whirlwind of surgery and chemotherapy, Sara lost more than her hair and her health. She lost the baby she had longed for. She lost the job that gave her purpose. She lost the imagined path forward. But in April 2014, after four rounds of chemo and the quiet ache of healing, she was declared cancer-free.

For many, that might be the end of the story. But for Sara, it was the beginning of something deeper, a rebirth. Beneath the surface of her pain grew purpose. She followed a calling into the world of cancer registry, where her work today fuels research and treatments that offer hope to others walking the road she knows so well.

Through this calling, she found a new community: the Ovarian Cancer Support Group “Wings of Teal”. What started as a monthly meeting quickly became a lifeline, an ever-present source of strength, connection, and compassion. From in-person gatherings to a vibrant online space, from annual awareness events to their First Assist Program, Sara and her sisters in teal now walk alongside others through every stage of the journey, because they know the power of someone saying, “You’re not alone.”

Still, even as Sara gave so much of herself to others, one dream continued to quietly burn: motherhood.

That dream took years to realize. It was a road paved with heartache, IVF cycles, miscarriages, and dashed hopes. But after their seventh and final embryo transfer, a single faint pink line gave Sara the one thing cancer couldn’t take: hope.

In February 2024, Sara and Alex welcomed baby Myles into the world, a living, breathing miracle. In his smile, in his cries, in every tiny moment of wonder, Sara sees the impossible made real. She sees life renewed.

Her underwater photoshoot - a visual metaphor of rebirth - captures what words can barely contain. Submerged in water, like the womb of a second chance, she embodies the strength, surrender, and sacredness of starting over. The image is one of transformation, a goddess of rebirth, not defined by what she’s endured, but empowered by it.

Today, Sara is a survivor. A mother. A leader. A voice of truth and tenderness for anyone facing ovarian cancer. She imagines a world with earlier detection, better outcomes, and more joy. A world where women not only survive, but thrive.

To those just beginning the battle: There is life after cancer. There is love. There is laughter. There is family. You are not alone. And you, too, can be reborn.

Legacy Lane honors Sara Durante, a woman who emerged from the depths not broken, but reborn. Her story is a reminder that beneath the surface of even the darkest moments, possibility is waiting to rise.

*Special thanks to the Polk Arts & Cultural Alliance for making this project possible through their generous grant.