“Welcome to my home that I never leave,” Denise Albert said with a chuckle as she opened the door to her Manhattan apartment when NY1 stopped by.

Albert’s more of a homebody these days, but that has nothing to do with the incredible view of the Hudson River she has from her window.

“This is the beauty of living in New York, and I’d like to live here again safely,” Albert said.

By looking at the photos she has on the walls of her home, you realize she’s actually a social butterfly.

"Oprah was a career highlight,” Albert said of one of the media appearances she recently had.  

Albert is a single mother of two boys and the co-founder of The MOMS, a multimedia life style brand and event company.

She’s also a breast cancer survivor and activist.

“Once you beat cancer, you don’t want to die from COVID," Albert said. "You know, I survived two-and-a-half years of horrific treatment that no one should have to go through. So, to survive cancer and get COVID, that can’t be,” Albert said.

Albert’s been living with that fear for about a year, since the pandemic began, but she hopes her nightmare will soon come to an end. She and many other New Yorkers living with comorbidities are now on their way to becoming eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine later this month.

She will qualify for the vaccine in two ways.

“I’m a recent cancer survivor, and then after my cancer treatment was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis,” Albert said.

She also has allergies, so she does worry about how her body will respond to the vaccine. But for her, the benefits outweigh her concerns. She’s looking towards spending more time with family, including her siblings, father and mother.

“I haven’t hugged her in over a year. I haven’t spent any time indoors with her. I haven’t cooked a meal for her,” Albert said of her mother.

Up until now, the 46-year-old has only been able to do so much to ensure she stays healthy.

While she knows the vaccine will only offer her an additional layer of protection against the virus, she’s already looking forward to a future where she can return to doing some of the other things she loves.

“There is a part of me that wants to get on a plane. I love to travel and I’m such an adventure seeker,” Albert said.