‘I was just living my life, getting cancer was not on my bingo card’

CATSKILL―For Tara Templeton, cancer was never supposed to be part of the plan.

The 45-year-old Catskill native was busy living her life, raising a family and doing what most people do without giving much thought to the possibility that a routine mammogram could change everything.

Then, in June of 2025, Templeton’s mother, Carole Muggeo, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Templeton accompanied her mother to her first surgical appointment and, suddenly aware that she now had a family history of breast cancer, asked her mother’s doctor an important question: “How does this change my chart?”

Templeton had recently received an “all clear” following her own routine mammogram. She was told to return in a year.

Instead, she asked for a second opinion. That decision ultimately saved her life.

Templeton was diagnosed with an aggressive HER2-positive breast cancer that had not been detected during her May mammogram but was present by July. She underwent surgery, followed by 12 rounds of chemotherapy and 19 rounds of radiation. She is still undergoing immunotherapy and has chosen hormonal therapy that is expected to continue for the next 10 years.

Now, while she is still actively receiving treatment, Templeton traded in the hospital gown for a runway outfit.

This past Saturday, she was one of 18 models participating in Rock Your Style, an annual fundraising event benefiting the NYOH Community Cancer Foundation at Empire Live in Albany.

And Templeton did not walk alone. Her oncologist, Dr. Ami Negandhi, walked alongside her.

“I first found out about this and told my oncologist that I'll do it if you do it,” Templeton said.

She kept her word—and so did her doctor.

The Rock Your Style event is now in its 18th year of charitable work supporting various organizations and its fourth year raising money to fight cancer. The models are not all cancer patients. Some are doctors, while others are people whose lives have been touched by cancer in different ways. This year, some high school students are also participating.

The runway itself is a community effort. Clothing and outfitting were provided through charitable contributions from people working in the fashion and styling industries, while local makeup artists are also donating their services.

Each of the 18 models has been challenged with raising $2,500. Templeton has gone considerably beyond that goal, raising close to $10,000 herself.

Collectively, this year's fundraising has approached $75,000, while last year's event brought in approximately $150,000.

The money raised through the NYOH Cancer Foundation goes directly toward helping NYOH patients facing financial hardships. That assistance can mean helping a patient pay for groceries, a mortgage or other basic expenses while they are undergoing cancer treatment.

“I was just living my life, getting cancer was not on my bingo card,” Templeton said. “But at least during treatment I could work and not everyone can. I want to give back to those who can’t and I want to share my joy and my light.”

NYOH treats patients across 11 counties in New York, including Greene County.

For Templeton, that local connection makes the cause particularly meaningful.

“Greene County is very affected by cancer,” she said, "But it is also my home and it is important for me to be a part of this as someone who has received help from the NYOH.”

Templeton's campaign has received support from a number of Greene County-area businesses, including Mid-Hudson Cable, Zef's Flooring, Angela Lanuto Realty Group, Seconds Restaurant in Athens and Stay Forever Catskill.

Her mother, meanwhile, is now a fellow cancer survivor. She had previously battled uterine cancer before being diagnosed with breast cancer last year. That experience has shaped why Templeton participated in Rock Your Style.

“I walked for my mom, for every family navigating a diagnosis, and for every person who needs to hear that survival is possible and that they don't have to face it alone,” she said.