Alumni Spotlight: Cancer Survivor Shares Story

Melanie A. Brissett Nix, MBA ’98, was a featured cancer survivor in the American Association for Cancer Research campaign for National Cancer Research Month in May 2014.

Nix, a triple negative breast cancer survivor, is a health advocate and speaker who works with several organizations to advocate for increased funding and research to reduce breast cancer disparities and eradicate cancer. She was featured in a public service announcement highlighting the lifesaving benefits of cancer research.

“As a beneficiary of cancer research, I am delighted to be a part of the campaign,” Nix says. “The gains made through lifesaving research have a significant impact on the millions of Americans, like me, who have been affected by cancer.”

In the announcement Nix describes her diagnosis during the Christmas season and talks about the impact on her family.

“My daughter was 1 and my son was 4 when I was diagnosed,” she says in the video. “Our biggest concern was maintaining a sense of normalcy for them, especially because it was around the holidays.”

Nix, a fifth generation breast cancer patient, lost her mother, aunt and four cousins to cancer. A carrier of the BRCA1 gene mutation, Nix’s extensive family history and survival story have been profiled by several media outlets and health organizations including NBC Nightly News with

She is the cofounder of the Breast Cancer Comfort Site, an online resource center.