Sylvia Shy's last name is a bit of a misnomer. The outgoing woman we interviewed for our paper today was animated and enthusiastic as she spoke to us - even when she was speaking about the cancer she has fought for years.

You can read her story on the front page and in our special section on Page 5A.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, but after a bilateral mastectomy, Shy believed her cancer was gone forever.

But in 2009, she felt a new lump where the cancer used to be. The cancer had returned, this time as stage 4 HER2-positive cancer. It has spread to her liver and spine.

Despite all of this, Shy has remained positive and upbeat, and is using this experience and the time she has left to help spread hope to other cancer patients.

"I'm going to keep on telling people to never give up hope. Just when you think this battle is lost, the journey will come to the end, God shows up. There is hope. You can't give up. Keep fighting and trusting and believing until you can't anymore."

For her determination in the face of adversity, we have named Sylvia Shy a hometown hero. Keep fighting, Sylvia.