Dakota Fisher-Vance

Dakota Fisher-Vance received her B.A. in biology from Bryn Mawr College in May 2011 and a Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (F.A.P.) diagnosis two months later. Reluctantly, she traded in her post-college job for surgical gowns to have her cancerous colon removed. While working abroad in 2013, she noticed another trick up F.A.P.’s sleeve and was diagnosed with a desmoid tumor which she currently manages with an oral chemotherapy. If anything, this tumor confirmed that while she hoped to be one in a million, statistically speaking, she’s closer to four in a million.

Patient advocacy fills the void left by her colon. She’s the co-founder of Young Adult Cancer Connection which hosted Cancervention, Philadelphia’s first young adult cancer conference, and the creator of FAPulousTV, the first YouTube Channel dedicated to discussing F.A.P. She further encourages engagement within the F.A.P. community as a Community Manager and member of the Community Engagement Council for FAPvoice.com.

The other diagnoses she contends with include an active chocolate addiction and the travel bug.