91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Local News

Peachtree City woman diagnosed with breast cancer at 28 shares story of joy, resiliency

By
Emily McLeod
Emily McLeod
Multimedia journalist
Emily McLeod is a reporter for CBS Atlanta and joined the team in February 2026.
Read Full Bio
Emily McLeod

/ CBS Atlanta

Most people think of October with breast cancer awareness, but the work being done by advocates and organizations like Susan G. Komen happens year-round.

Peachtree City resident Heather Tucker was diagnosed with De Novo Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer three years ago at just 28 years old.

She received her diagnosis on a Friday, and by Tuesday, she was back at work trying cases as a misdemeanor prosecutor with Fulton County.

"I put on my heels, put on my Spanx, and got two DUI convictions," Tucker said.

Despite the diagnosis, she wanted to see her cases through.

"I do a lot of DUIs and a lot of domestic violence cases, so these are very important too," Tucker said. "So yeah, that's what keeps me going."

emc-breast-cancer-2.png
A trip to the urgent care clinic led Heather Tucker to learn she had cancer in her breasts, bones, liver, and ovaries. Heather Tucker

Tucker found out about her cancer after a visit to the urgent care clinic. She had been sick for nearly a week when her mom suggested she go to the doctor.

"The doctor came in, she was like, 'Is your back hurting?'" Tucker said. "And I was like, 'Oh, extremely, extremely.' But I didn't really complain because I figured everybody's back hurts. And she said, 'Well, cancer is eating your spine.' Those are her exact words I'll never forget."

Cancer had spread to Tucker's bones, liver, and ovaries. But three months after her 30th birthday, Tucker went into remission.

"When it's metastatic breast cancer, metastatic means it's spread from the original location," Tucker said. "The fight is never really over. The cancer is just so aggressive. I'm going to be on chemo for the rest of my life."

Yet, Tucker still finds joy.

"When I found that out, I just decided I was not going to let cancer run my life or make decisions for me," Tucker said.

Tucker lives her life going to concerts, spending time with her dog, Knight, and sharing her story with others.

"If I can turn this terrible thing that's happened to me into, you know, a potentially good thing and inspirational thing, helpful to others, that's just what I want to do," Tucker said.

Tucker also raises money for Susan G. Komen while believing the cure for cancer will be found in her lifetime.

Tucker will be the keynote speaker at the Susan G. Komen Party in Pink event on March 21 in Atlanta. For tickets to the event, . 

In:

© 2026 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
const link = doc.createElement('link'); link.rel = 'stylesheet'; link.href = '/fly/fly/bundles/cbsnewscontent/css/cmp-banner.min.css?v=296763317a51cab90faa73f1bb146d5c'; doc.head.appendChild(link); doc.body.innerHTML = CONSENT_MESSAGE; } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', CONSENT_MESSAGE); } }); } function hidePrivacyMessage() { // Remove from the main document document.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); // Remove from inside any iframes document.querySelectorAll('iframe').forEach(iframe => { const doc = iframe.contentDocument || iframe.contentWindow.document; doc.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); }); } function activateGatedScripts() { // Handle both new format (cmp-gated-script) and old OneTrust/Ketch format (optanon-category-4) const gatedScripts = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('script.cmp-gated-script, script.optanon-category-4')); // Activate scripts sequentially with a small delay to avoid timing issues let delay = 0; gatedScripts.forEach(function(placeholder, index) { setTimeout(function() { // Skip if already processed if (placeholder.hasAttribute('data-cmp-processed')) { return; } placeholder.setAttribute('data-cmp-processed', 'true'); const newScript = document.createElement('script'); newScript.type = 'text/javascript'; // Try new format first (data-cmp-src), then fall back to old format (data-src) const src = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-src') || placeholder.getAttribute('data-src'); if (src) { newScript.src = src; } else if (placeholder.textContent) { // Inline script - just copy the content newScript.textContent = placeholder.textContent; } // Handle new format attributes (data-cmp-attrs) - for both inline and external scripts const attrs = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-attrs'); if (attrs) { const tempDiv = document.createElement('div'); tempDiv.innerHTML = '
<\/div>'; const tempAttrs = tempDiv.firstChild.attributes; for (let i = 0; i < tempAttrs.length; i++) { // For external scripts, allow defer/async. For inline scripts, skip them (not valid) if (src || (tempAttrs[i].name !== 'async' && tempAttrs[i].name !== 'defer')) { newScript.setAttribute(tempAttrs[i].name, tempAttrs[i].value); } } } // Copy other attributes from old OneTrust format for (let i = 0; i < placeholder.attributes.length; i++) { const attr = placeholder.attributes[i]; // Skip attributes we've already handled or don't want to copy if (!['class', 'data-src', 'data-type', 'data-cmp-src', 'data-cmp-attrs', 'data-cmp-processed', 'type', 'async', 'defer', 'src'].includes(attr.name)) { newScript.setAttribute(attr.name, attr.value); } } placeholder.parentNode.replaceChild(newScript, placeholder); // If external script, manually trigger window.onload handlers after it loads // This handles widgets that use window.onload for initialization if (src) { newScript.addEventListener('load', function() { // If page already loaded and script set a new onload handler, trigger it if (document.readyState === 'complete' && window.onload) { const originalOnload = window.onload; window.onload = null; // Clear temporarily to prevent loops originalOnload(); // Execute the handler } }); } }, delay); delay += 500; // 500ms delay between each script to allow full loading }); } cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp) { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (!allowed) { showPrivacyMessage(); } else { activateGatedScripts(); } }); cmp.ot.awaitInitialConsent(function(consent_model) { cmp.ot.addOnConsentChangedHandler(function() { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (allowed) { hidePrivacyMessage(); activateGatedScripts(); } else { showPrivacyMessage(); } }); }); }); });