Three-Time Cancer Survivor Valerie David on Empowerment, Advocacy & The Pink Hulk

Three-Time Cancer Survivor Valerie David on Empowerment, Advocacy & The Pink Hulk

Valerie David, also known as The Pink Hulk, is a three-time cancer survivor (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, stage 2 breast cancer, and stage 4 metastatic breast cancer) who turned her journey of resilience into an award-winning one-woman show. Through humor, raw honesty, and advocacy, she inspires audiences worldwide—proving that even cancer won’t stop her from taking center stage.

Check out Valerie’s show, The Pink Hulk here: https://pinkhulkplay.com/

Key Highlights:

  1. Valerie trusted her inner voice when symptoms appeared, even when doctors initially dismissed them. If you are able to get second opinions, advocate for yourself, and listen to your gut, you’ll find this to be useful in other parts of your own life.

  2. Surround yourself with friends, family, and doctors who believe in your survival as much as you do.

  3. Balancing intuition with fear over symptoms can be tricky, but Valerie advises: don’t panic over nothing, don’t choose to live in fear. Instead, stay proactive by communicating with your care team about any arising symptoms.

About our guest:

Valerie David is an actor, playwright, writer, and editor. She is a proud 26-year cancer survivor and wrote The Pink Hulk: One Woman’s Journey to Find the Superhero Within, an autobiographical comedic drama, to help inspire and empower others through the courage/inner strength she found to become a 3-time cancer survivor—Stage III Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1998, Stage II Breast Cancer in 2014, and Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer in 2018. Valerie currently has no evidence of disease since 2019. The Pink Hulk has been accepted into over 60 different play festivals and 25 different cities worldwide, including in England, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland, and won multiple awards. Touring since its first performance in 2016, Valerie and her show have impacted audiences with its universal message of hope and empowerment; its motto: NEVER GIVE UP HOPE! She recently received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Resilience in Action for her patient advocacy work from the Biden administration and The Pink Conqueror Award from the NOW Awards/Power of PINK summit in Las Vegas. Valerie also contributes to panel discussions through The Pink Hulk, and has been the keynote for cancer organizations. She raises money through Pink Hulk performances for domestic and international cancer organizations. 


A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Valerie's credits include the Off-Broadway production of A Stoop on Orchard Street, Cookie in Rumors, and Claudia Shear’s Blown Sideways Through Life. She volunteers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and conducts improv and writing workshops for groups, including monthly for cancer patients and survivors through The Red Door Community (formerly Gilda's Club of NYC). Valerie is also a member of Broadway Hearts, where she is part of the Broadway community performing weekly virtual sing-alongs at children's hospitals nationwide to bring smiles and joy to children in need.

Key Moments:

At 7 minutes 28 seconds “What is my choice? Is my choice going to live in fear every single day? Is it going to be well, we'll deal with it when it happens. So I think what I've learned from cancer is don't worry until there's something to worry about.”

At 39 minutes 30 seconds “And I remember walking in a daze, you know, the first time and also the second time, like, like looking at people on the street walking in Manhattan, and I'm like, I have cancer. Wow. I don't look at it, you don't see me, but I have cancer. That's why you never know what someone's going through. That's why you treat people with kindness.”

At 46 minutes 28 seconds “Don't be afraid to ask for help. I think that that's really important. There's this shame of: I need to be strong enough and I'm tough enough. I still get counseling for cancer, and I have no shame in that. You have to ask for help. Friends want to help and they'll say, no, what could I do for you? I had friends coming over doing laundry, bringing meals over, coming with me to radiation. I always had someone at radiation sign up and come with me to radiation. So I think too, people want to help and you're not a burden.”

At 49 minutes 57 seconds “Just make sure you have that superhero squad with family friends and doctors who believe in your survival as much as you believe in your own survival.”

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