NORFOLK, Va. - You may recognize the restaurant along Colley Avenue named Starving Artist Café.
Last year, News 3 introduced you to Kim Keene, the beloved artist who owned the restaurant. Keene is also a breast cancer survivor, first getting diagnosed in 2017.
But now, she’s painting a new picture of hope and filled with pink.
“It has created a really strong will to live,” Keene said. “I’m doing a lot of art now. It energizes me. It makes me feel good.”
Overall, Keene told News 3 she feels pretty good, and has good days and bad days, after feeling short of breath over the summer.
She said this led to numerous tests and an 11-day stay in the hospital. One side of her lungs filled with fluid.
“The fluid was tested, and that’s when they saw that it was breast cancer,” Keene said.
Keene was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.
“With the little bit of breast tissue that I had left, that they didn’t remove five years ago, I developed a whole different kind of breast cancer,” she said. “I was in shock.”
In September, Keene ended up selling Starving Artist Café to focus on her cancer treatment.
“It was a hard thing to get rid of,” she said.
Her shock has evolved into strength. Shortly after her diagnosis, she chose to get involved with the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk of the Peninsula with a purpose of giving back to help those like her.
“I’m a little bit competitive. I wanted to win this race, just like I do with cancer. I want to beat this,” she said.
So far, Keene’s team has raised nearly $10,000 in about two months.
She’s advocating for others to be advocates for themselves.
“You know your body better than anybody else,” Keene said.
Meanwhile, she’s getting ready for her greatest masterpiece: beating cancer, not once, but twice.
“You’ve got to have that will to live,” Keene said. “I’m fighting this. I want to win this battle. I want to be around. I want to see my kids grow up. I want to win this fight.”
