Still struggling with the word pre-cancer after DCIS mastectomy

Brave battler - a lazy, supposedly empathetic description that makes me cross. For many, ‘winning the battle’ involves a bit of luck, as in you found out early, the medication works for you, the side effects aren’t too severe etc. Brave? I have always adopted the Bravery Council’s definition of bravery - ‘taking yourself from a place of safety to a place of danger to assist another’. It’s the conscious volition that marks bravery - I don’t know anyone who chose cancer, or who might not dodge it given an option! Tagging you as ‘brave’ (or, worse, a hero) may make the speaker feel better but doesn’t do much for the object of the description.