I was 34 years old when I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. On February 17, 2024 I received a phone call from my primary doctor with results of a biopsy confirming it was cancer. In March I started with 12 rounds of chemo. In July I had a double mastectomy and did four more rounds of chemo. I am currently on immunotherapy for a year and am waiting for my exchange surgery to be scheduled.
Trip to Hawaii with her sons
I was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer with mets to my liver and lungs in February of 2023 after a trip to the ER for severe abdominal pain. I had emergency surgery resulting in a temporary loop colostomy. I started chemotherapy in March of 2023 and I had eight rounds of strong chemotherapy before being switched to maintenance chemo. I was then able to have a huge surgery in December of 2023 which removed my primary tumor, reversed my colostomy, resected my colon, removed my ovaries and resected and ablated 12 tumors in my liver.
Shortly after my December surgery my lung mets reappeared and I was on watch and wait until May of 2024 when my scans showed recurrence in my liver. Since that time I have been on and off chemo and had another surgery for tumor harvest in the hopes my cells can grow for participation in a TIL (tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte) trial. I am currently back on chemotherapy and hoping for another break after my next scan.
Flexible season tickets to the Miami Marlins
I was diagnosed de novo with stage 4, metastatic, inflammatory breast cancer in February 2023. I was breastfeeding my youngest son at the time and what I believed to be mastitis was in fact breast cancer that had already spread to my sternum, lungs, and spine. After six rounds of chemotherapy, I was placed on immunotherapy treatment. Unfortunately, after eleven months that failed and I started my next chemotherapy in May of 2024.
After having a PET Scan in December 2024, a new progression spot has emerged so I am in the process of having new tests done to determine my next course of action.
A day with the Philadelphia Phillies.
In January of 2022. When I was 29 years old I was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma bone cancer that was found in my tibia. I completed nine months of incredibly intense chemotherapy and underwent a limb salvage surgery which included a full knee replacement along with a big chunk of my tibia. It took me about seven months after surgery to learn to walk again and about a year to gain back any sort of real physical stamina and independence. After finishing my chemotherapy in October, I had a chest CT in January of 2023. It showed that I had a lung metastasis that was growing. I had lung surgery to have the nodule removed and then enjoyed about nine months of no cancer treatments or surgeries before cancer was found again in my leg as well as in my lymph nodes and many new nodules in my lungs. In November of last year, I started chemotherapy again but it was not very effective. The tumor in my leg continued to grow to the point where I could no longer put weight on my leg or use it in any functional way. At the same time I was having multiple daily fevers of up to 104 that, after much investigation, had no other explanation other than being a “tumor fever.” On January 31st of 2024, I received an above knee amputation and while I was sad to lose my leg I was happy to find that my fevers stopped and I gained a new sort of independence and mobility that I had lost before surgery, even though that meant hopping around with a walker. I continued on the same chemotherapy that had shown overall “stable” results in my lungs, meaning some things grow and some things shrink. I made a brief pause to radiate a couple of spots that had been growing more than the rest, and then continued chemo. This continued until we decided to switch to a specialty hospital, not because we were unhappy with the original team, but because I am on the last approved traditional treatment and we know that being in a place with many clinical trials will be important to me in the near future.
A beach trip
I was admitted into the ER a few days before thanksgiving. I was experiencing extreme pain in my liver and I could hardly breathe. It began as a slight pain in my side and I thought nothing of it as I would go to the gym occasionally with my cousin and thought it was just soreness. It began to become worse and worse to the point I couldn’t breathe properly and my parents rushed me to the hospital. They ran some tests on me and I was told I had a very high white blood count. The average person has between 4-11 thousand my count was up to 75 thousand. All the information was coming at me so fast I couldn’t properly comprehend what was going on and what was happening. The doctor told me that my symptoms pointed toward cancer but they had to do more tests to confirm if I did or not have it. I stayed in the ER for two days before being admitted to the hospital. There I was told I had leukemia type ALL. It’s a mutation common in Latin people which causes my type of cancer to be more aggressive but it is still very treatable. For the first few days I felt horrible – my liver pain was awful and I had to use oxygen to help me breathe. This whole experience has been hard on my parents but they’re still very hopeful and cheerful and just worried about my well-being. I am the youngest of the family. I only have one older brother and hearing I had cancer made my mother break down and left my father in disbelief. My family and friends have all visited and been very supportive in trying to keep my hopes up and telling me I’ll beat this. My parents and clinical team are very optimistic that I will get better and I have had the support of many people to help boost my morale. Being only 18, I had just graduated from high school. All the news at once was hard on me. I barely graduated this year waiting to see where life takes me and by bad luck I ended up with cancer but I still have plans to continue educating myself and spending the time I have at home to better myself and hope to build a future for myself when I hopefully beat this cancer.
A new TV
I was 34 at the time of my diagnosis in 2022. A CT scan revealed that I had a tumor the size of a small orange between my aorta and pulmonary artery in my heart. The tumor appeared to be paraganglioma, which is a very rare neuroendocrine cancer. My geneticist had sent me a follow-up genetic test result that said I have a gene for paraganglioma. I had taken the genetic test because my mother had passed away from Stage IV Ovarian Cancer when I was in high school. I waited an entire year from when the geneticist told me to actually get screened because I thought there was no way I could have cancer at my age.
I joined the paraganglioma lifetime research study with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and am now helping others with this disease. I had an open-heart surgery with 3 cardiac surgeons, which took 8 hours, on February 1, 2023. Doctors formally diagnosed me with paraganglioma since they had tissue samples. My cancer turned out to be metastatic. It had metastasized to a lymph node and trachea. The doctors were able to remove it from my lymph node, but not from my trachea.
The tumor in my trachea cannot be operated on at the moment. I was told by my oncologist in 2024 that I will never be cancer free. He said my type of cancer is like whack-a-mole since a new tumor can pop up any time. I am continuing to live my life to the fullest despite my circumstances!
A trip
I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer on January 11, 2022 at the age of 36. I went in for what I thought was kidney stone pain and was diagnosed in the ER on the spot pretty much. It was shocking and scary. I had my right kidney removed in a radical nephrectomy almost 3 months later. All signs showed that the surgery was a success and there was no evidence of disease. Almost a year later in March of 2023 tests showed that the cancer had returned to multiple lymph nodes in my chest and abdomen.
From there I started both a biweekly infusion and a daily chemo pill. This treatment was extremely rough and draining and ultimately did not work. In November of 2023 tests showed that the cancer was growing and we switched to a different treatment plan. Then this fall tests revealed that the cancer had spread to my spine and hips. I am finishing radiation and we are looking at clinical trials but the cancer is incurable.
A trip to make memories with my family.
May 1st, 2024, was the day that I had my first mammogram and May 10th, 2024, also known as “Mexican Mother’s Day,” was a day that changed my life. At the age of 27, I got a call at work letting me know that the biopsy they had done from my left breast and armpit, came back positive for breast cancer. I remember feeling so crushed, as that was not the news I expected to hear. Especially not on a special day that I was supposed to celebrate with my 2-year-old and husband. I also felt angry because I had been struggling with my health for 2 years prior to diagnosis and I knew something was not right. Doctors would tell me that I was “healthy and young” or it must be hormonal, so nothing was wrong, also no one else in my family had ever been diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember the doctor on the phone was so empathetic and I could tell by the crack in her voice that it was also hard news to deliver. After that call I broke down at work and I immediately called my brother and my husband. A few days passed and they let me know that I had HER2+, PR+ and ER+ breast cancer. I met with the genetic counselor and she asked me what felt like a million questions. She ordered a genetic test for me that tested for 70 genes. I had an MRI done and that is when they found that I had a tumor on my left breast and also found something going on with my right breast. I had another biopsy done May 23rd, but this time it was my right breast and armpit. On May 28th, I got a call from my genetic counselor and my oncologist. My genetic counselor let me know that the results came in and she explained to me that I had Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, a rare gene mutation that makes individuals at higher risk of developing cancer. She apologized that it was shocking news and let me know that she would highly suggest that my mom, dad, sister, brother and son get genetic testing. Then, I got a call from my oncologist and he let me know about the Li-Fraumeni diagnosis and the pathology results from the biopsy. He let me know that there was also breast cancer on the right breast but it was not invasive. After this I got more tests done and they scheduled me for my first round of chemo. May was a long month and I tried to stay as positive as I could but instead of getting May flowers it felt like I got an avalanche.
The first week of June I finally let my parents and best friend know that I had cancer, it was the hardest news that I had ever given to my parents. Then I let my supervisor at work know and the rest of my family. Although it was tough, I felt so thankful that I had so much support. I met with my oncologist and he gave me a rundown of what my treatment would look like. He let me know that I would do 6 rounds of chemo. Then I would get a bilateral mastectomy, depending on the results of that pathology, they would determine what my following treatment would look like. He also sent a referral for me to a care team at a hospital with more experience with Li-Fraumeni. After seeing them I felt more hopeful and I felt like I got another boost to keep fighting.
The first few rounds of chemo were tiring and tough but I was working full time. The next rounds were very difficult and I had a severe allergic reaction to one of the medications. I have had my surgery and am waiting on results of more testing while getting chemo.
Trip to Berlin with her family
In November of 2022, I celebrated my 30th birthday in Palm Springs, California, and was lucky to attend Pride at the same time. I loved it so much that I ended up accepting a travel work contract to work in the school system as an occupational therapist. My partner and I packed up our hatchback and cat and drove back down to Palm Springs in January of 2023. Unfortunately, about a month and a half into my contract, I started experiencing GI symptoms that were new to me. Initially, I thought I was just finally developing IBS, so I reached out to my PCP with my symptoms. She encouraged me to see a GI doctor. I was able to get in fairly quickly and, after an exam, the doctor told me it could be cancer. This was distressing, but by this point, I was beginning to suspect that was the case.
The cancer was confirmed by a colonoscopy the following week and, due to my worsening symptoms, it was determined that the best treatment was a colostomy. After that surgery, we returned home, where I started treatment. My cancer was diagnosed as stage III due to local lymph node involvement. I did six weeks of radiation, four months of chemo, and finally, an APR surgery that resulted in my colostomy being permanent. I was NED for six months until August of 2024 when my regular scans revealed my cancer had spread to two distant lymph nodes. This meant I was officially stage IV, which was scary. However, my team felt that with chemo and radiation, I could become NED again. I’m currently finishing up chemo and will start radiation soon—stay tuned.
Throughout this whole process, I have thought a lot about how this cancer and treatment have affected my relationships, sexuality, daily life, and more. As a pansexual woman, the LGBTQ+ community is close to my heart, and the impact of this type of cancer on the community is clear. It’s important to me that people have a space where these discussions can be frank and open.
Trip with her partner
On January 9th, 2024, I was diagnosed with a life changing diagnosis. I was only 19 when I was told that I have Leukemia ALL B-cell and started treatment right away. I was at the hospital for my first month and my life and my family’s life was changed right away. It hasn’t been an easy road. I have been through so much while doing treatments.
The first few months, I lost movement from the hip down and I was completely unable to do anything by myself. I suffered three falls during my first month and I had to learn how to move again. I also got blood clots on both my legs which caused a delayed on my physical therapy. I also suffered with high blood sugars due to steroids. During one of the hardest treatments which consists of a 24 hour infusion, I got burns and I was in so much pain. Not only did I have physical issues, but mental health issues too. But throughout everything, I keep trying to continue forward for my family.
Something fun with her family
