Colleen Bergsten has worked for Gallagher & Kennedy law firm for 25 years and has been battling breast cancer for 21 of those years. She was first diagnosed at the age of just 31 and has no family history of breast cancer.
Bergsten has been in Stage 4 since 2008 and has lost her hair four times, but has never lost her smile or her determination. Even though the cancer has metastasized to her liver and bones, she continues to go to work every day as the legal assistant to the firm’s co-founder, Mike Gallagher.
“Colleen has been a courageous and valued part of our Gallagher & Kennedy team for more than two decades,” said Co-founder and Shareholder Mike Gallagher. “We’re proud to stand by her and others in our firm who have so bravely battled and continue to battle this horrible disease. As a firm we work together to help our clients succeed and overcome obstacles every day, but we also work together to help one another and serve our community.”
In honor of her and the eight other employees at the firm over the years who have battled breast cancer, Gallagher & Kennedy once again sponsored a team for the Oct. 11 Susan G. Komen Phoenix Race for the Cure. For the past 12 years, the firm has paid for employees and their families to join the race. This year’s team consisted of 31 members of all ages, and raised nearly $5,000. The firm by itself raised $192,725 for Komen from 2002-2014.
Bergsten is undergoing experimental treatment at Cancer Treatment Centers of America all while continuing to work hard and spend time with her husband, Steve, and daughter, Rachel.