Hope and Heart: Valeda Keys turns strength into action as she helps St. Louis women recover from breast cancer.
Valeda Keys sits behind a neatly organized desk in the small Brentwood office of her nonprofit organization, Valeda’s Hope. In sharp contrast to the building’s neutral hallways, the walls of her office are painted in bright hues of pink and purple that are reflective of the bold, feminine energy she exudes
Ruminating on the long, hard journey that brought her here, she says, “You don’t take things one day at a time – you take them one second at a time.”
This is the outlook that helped her survive two diagnoses of breast cancer and seven surgeries — including a double mastectomy — over a three-year period. Strength and hope are essential for anyone fighting cancer and Keys has an abundance of both, which she now uses to help other St. Louis women.
Story By Amy Burger, Visuals By Chris Ryan, Michael Thomas