Model’s dream of New York Fashion Week derailed by breast cancer diagnosis

A lump under her arm found while shaving sent Alison McCullough from New York Fashion Week prep in September 2025 into aggressive breast-cancer treatment. McCullough was 39 and in the best shape of her life when she noticed the lump.

McCullough later said on Facebook that she had been diagnosed with triple negative invasive ductal carcinoma, an aggressive form of breast cancer. She described her life shifting from runway training to appointments, uncertainty and aggressive chemotherapy.

A person with invasive ductal carcinoma may feel a lump in the breast or underarm, and a lump or swelling in the breast, chest or armpit merits attention. For people who notice a new lump under the arm, follow up rather than wait for it to fade, especially if it persists or changes.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends biennial screening mammography for women at average risk beginning at 40 and continuing through 74. At 39, McCullough was just below that routine screening age.

McCullough received treatment at City of Hope Phoenix. A later City of Hope Phoenix update had her back home in Alaska and writing a new chapter as a breast cancer survivor after being in the middle of treatment there five months earlier. City of Hope Phoenix honored McCullough alongside her medical oncologist, Dr. Sagun Shrestha, at Camelback Ranch–Glendale before a nearly packed ballpark.