Breast cancer has shaped Stephanie Villavicencio’s life since early childhood. When she was just 2 years old, her mother, Robin, died from Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer at age 33 — years before she would have been eligible for routine breast cancer screening under existing guidelines.
That personal loss took on renewed urgency in 2020, when Villavicencio’s close friend Nadine Fernandez was diagnosed with breast cancer at the same age. Determined to help, Villavicencio began raising funds for Fernandez’s treatment, selling “tits deep” stickers while working as a snowboard instructor. Within two months, she had raised more than $11,000. The grassroots effort grew into a formal nonprofit the following year, now known as Tits Deep for Breast Cancer.
Fernandez passed away in 2022 at age 33, mirroring the fate of Villavicencio’s mother decades earlier. The losses strengthened Villavicencio’s resolve to address a persistent gap in breast cancer care: support for high-risk women under 40.
While one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, younger women often struggle to access early detection resources. Villavicencio is working to change that through her Aspen-based nonprofit, which focuses on education, advocacy, and financial assistance for early screening and treatment for younger, high-risk patients.
Her journey — transforming grief into purpose — is the focus of a new short documentary, Forever in the Mountains. The 14-minute film, produced by Villavicencio and Haley Kletke and directed by Grace Eggleston, premiered in December. Lia Nydes served as director of photography.
Filmed in August 2024 and February 2025, the documentary highlights the resilience of cancer “thrivers” and explores how outdoor activities such as skiing, mountain biking, and rafting can help survivors rebuild community and reclaim a sense of control over their bodies.
Villavicencio said the response to the film has been deeply moving. Audiences across multiple screenings have approached her to share personal stories and reflect on how the film resonated with their own experiences. “You can tell that those people felt like a part of the journey,” she said.
Scenes in the film include rafting on the Colorado River with local women’s team Rapid Fire Racing and snowboarding footage at Sunlight Mountain Resort, which sponsored filming on the mountain and at Williams Peak. Villavicencio described the local support as critical for a small nonprofit and emphasized the importance of showcasing the surrounding valley.
Backed by sponsor Kari Traa and community co-hosts including Tarin it Up x Dames of Dirt and Hood Girlz, the film has screened across Colorado and in states such as California and Oregon. Upcoming showings are scheduled for Wisconsin in January and Atlanta, Georgia, the following month. The documentary has also been submitted to major festivals, including the 5Point Film Festival and Aspen Film Festival.
Alongside the film’s release, Tits Deep launched a new grant program in December to help cover costs for early detection, diagnostic imaging, and treatment. The initiative has already assisted about 10 women, awarding grants ranging from $500 to $1,000.
The need for such programs is growing. According to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, breast cancer incidence among women under 50 rose faster than in older women between 2012 and 2022. Women diagnosed before age 40 are also about 40% more likely to die from the disease than those diagnosed later in life.
Villavicencio herself is considered high risk due to family history and was encouraged to begin mammograms in her 20s. However, she found that financial assistance programs frequently excluded women under 40, mirroring national screening guidelines. As a result, she delayed her own screenings until her early 30s.
Even women with health insurance often face coverage barriers for mammograms before age 40, Villavicencio noted. Her nonprofit aims to reach those who are overlooked by standard healthcare systems.
“Our goal is to reduce the gap in care,” she said. “We want to help women catch cancer early enough for it to be lifesaving — instead of ignoring symptoms because they don’t have the financial resources to get the care they need.”
