Last August, 21-year-old Paige Boyadjis learned she might have breast cancer — and she was not at all surprised. After watching both her mother and two grandmothers face the disease, she knew this was a possibility. What did surprise Paige? Her focus while lying on the doctor’s ultrasound table. She did not watch her life flash before her eyes, as you might expect, nor did she run through a list of outstanding items on her bucket list. Instead, she considered only one thing: “What will happen with UDance?”

Paige, a senior English major at the University of Delaware, is co-executive director of this year-long fundraising effort. Since last spring, she and fellow UD senior Allison Worms have managed a team of more than 6,000 students as they’ve generated money and awareness for pediatric cancer patients and their families. The group has undertaken several initiatives in the past 12 months, from canning for change on Main Street in Newark to hosting charity events, like September’s family-friendly tailgate or October’s Rave Run 5k on campus. The capstone project, a 12-hour dance marathon scheduled for March 22 and typically attended by more than 4,000, has been canceled due to the spread of coronavirus, but a replacement, virtual celebration is in the works for the same day. 

In other words, this is a Herculean effort. And it comes with high expectations — in the almost 14 years UDance has existed, more than $11 million has been raised for the cause, with a record $2.25 million brought in last year alone. The pressure on participants is external — the wider community anxiously awaits the big, monetary reveal every year. And it’s also internal — participants feel a sense of responsibility to do the best they can for their beneficiaries, the child cancer patients of the Wilmington-based Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. These kids, so-called B+ heroes, are paired with different UD organizations throughout the school year, from fraternities to athletic teams, who offer friendship and support. 

For Paige, who works more than 40 hours a week on UDance, this is a labor of love. 

“It has given me a sense of purpose,” she said. “I’ve learned that, when you put effort into helping others, you become better yourself. You’re able to heal.” 

When Paige was a young child — too young to grasp the gravity of the situation — her paternal and maternal grandmothers were both diagnosed, at separate times, with breast cancer. The former initially beat the disease, but it came back in the form of stomach cancer when Paige was in high school, and it ultimately took her life. The latter beat the disease twice, and now she’s substitute teaching at a high school and going to the gym “like a boss,” Paige said. “She’s the healthiest person I know.” 

After each of these initial diagnoses, Paige and her younger sister were shielded by their parents from the reality of what had befallen their family. But when the third diagnosis came shortly thereafter — Paige’s mother, Amanda Boyadjis, also received a positive result — total shielding became impossible. At this stage, Paige was 11. Lucy, her little sister, was 9.

“We watched my mom lose her hair,” Paige said. “And that was hard and sad — she had such beautiful hair. As a little girl, of course, you’re obsessed with that kind of thing. But we never saw my mother cry — she took ownership of it. She’d wear these bandanas and these beautiful, patterned scarves. Each day, she would invite my sister and me to help pick one out. I have such a vivid memory of sitting in my orthodontist’s office waiting to get my braces checked. I looked over at her wearing one of these scarves and thought: ‘My mom is so cool.’ She wouldn’t let her sickness define her.” 

According to Paige, being involved with UDance over the course of the last four years — first as an engagement coordinator recruiting first-year students, then as a member and director of the public relations team and now as co-executive director — has forced her to reflect on some of these formative moments. She remembers the heartache of wanting to speak with friends about her mom’s disease, yet not wanting to burden them with pain they could not — as elementary school students — handle.

“I’m so grateful to UDance for allowing me to work through all these emotions, to the point where I can now use them in a positive way, to relate to and help other people in similar situations,” Paige said. “At the time, I reacted by being sad and closed off, which I don’t regret — that’s how I needed to process. But now I can see what that time in my life has given me.” 

Despite what she’s been through, Paige said she considers herself lucky. When battling cancer, her family had a support system, health insurance and a steady income from her father’s sales job — all privileges that so many B+ heroes don’t enjoy. In this way, she explained, her work with UDance has shaped her perspective — and her career path. After graduation, she will follow in her mother’s footsteps and pursue a career in the nonprofit sector. In the meantime, she’s interning with the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, helping shape their social media, fundraising and graphic design campaigns. 

“I couldn’t be prouder of my daughter,” said Amanda, who is coming up on 10 years of being cancer free. “Through this work, she’s become more compassionate, more sensitive. This has touched her heart.”

As for Paige’s recent health scare, it was just that — a scare. She is healthy, although she is also prepared, she said, for whatever comes her way. 

“One thing my dad always told us is that you can’t control what happens to you in life,” she said. “We’re all going to face adversity — whether that’s related to cancer or the coronavirus or something else. You have a choice in how you react to that adversity. At the end of the day, you have a voice in how you move forward.”