ORANGE PARK, Fla. – There’s this really cool coffee house in Orange Park called Urban Bean.
In March, the owners celebrated 10 years in business.
I’ve been there so many times, I recognize members of the family who own it.
But last fall, I noticed the owners’ daughter, Melissa Warren, suddenly had a different look.
She started wearing head wraps and beanies.
Sometimes it feels a little cool inside the business, so I thought nothing of it because she was still her smiling, chipper self.
But when I saw her wearing beanies every..single..day, and then one day I didn’t see her at all for a while -- I knew something was up.
I began talking to other patrons, which is how I found out Melissa was fighting triple-negative breast cancer.
But today, less than a year after her diagnosis, she is cancer-free and singing the praises of early detection -- something she almost ignored.
“A lot of people ask me, ‘What were your signs?’ and ‘What were your symptoms?” Melissa explained to me when I sat down with her to find out more.
I asked if she would be a guest on my podcast “Discover the Joy: The Purdy Podcast” because, despite all she’s been through, I never would have known of her battle with cancer were it not for the beanies.
Watch the full interview below:
“I actually didn’t have any [symptoms]. And so it was really because my annual mammogram came due,” she said with a smile.
“And I was not going to go, because I’m stubborn like that. And I thought, ‘Well, I did it last year...’[But] it was really my husband’s prompting that said ‘You should probably go.’”
Thank goodness she did in August of last year.
Melissa got that dreaded call days later at work.
She had triple-negative breast cancer.
" Was there any pain involved? Did you feel a lump?" I asked her.
“Actually, I could not feel anything,” she said matter-of-factly.
“It is purely because I went to get my annual mammogram done.”
Melissa says that, according to her oncologist, had she waited until November or December to be tested, she could have been dealing with a whole different story, because the tumor had already doubled in size by the time it was removed.
Her surgery to remove the tumor took place one month after she received her diagnosis.
Chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed.
Then came April 28, 2025 -- the day she rang the bell at the hospital, officially declaring her cancer free.
Melissa celebrated that milestone with family, friends, and Urban Bean patrons.
But she says her journey isn’t over.
Sure, for the next 2 years, doctors will watch her like a hawk to make sure there are no cancer reoccurrences.
But there’s also that one, overwhelming question lingering: What now?
“Should I get rid of all of the toxins in my household? What even are all of the toxins? Should I stay away from sugar? Should I only drink water? Should I never have an alcoholic beverage?”
She rattled off the list of unanswered questions just as fast as they swirl around in her mind.
“It’s like, I can’t ... I can’t do all of this, you know? And if I’m going to die, it’s not going to be with a carrot in my hand.”
Melissa’s laughter at her own joke breaks the seriousness the conversation commanded.
She says her faith, friends, family, and singing help her erase those negative thoughts.
Of course, I had to ask her to sing one of her favorite songs for me.
Watch my full conversation with Melissa to hear a beautiful Ella Fitzgerald-esque voice.
You’ll also hear more about the treatment for her rare type of cancer, and she talks more about her faith and her husband, just two of several main pillars in her life that she cites for getting her through some pretty dark days.