In November 2017, Candice Bowman’s husband felt a lump in her left breast. She immediately scheduled an appointment with her physician. A month later, after a mammogram and two biopsies, she was diagnosed with Stage IIB, ER+ breast cancer. Her diagnosis was surreal. The wave of emotions that accompanied the diagnosis and treatment seemed overbearing. “There were many times I cried out to God, that it couldn’t get any worse and then, the next day it did,” she said. Candice knew that she had to be strong for her family, particularly her daughters, ages ten and fourteen. After what seemed like three months of straight tears, she woke up and decided she had had enough. In that moment, she decided to embrace a different perspective, keeping in mind her mother-in-law’s words, “This too shall pass.” “Perspective is also a game changer. When I took the perspective of someone in a worse situation, my sadness and pain went away. I was able to be grateful even in my deepest, darkest hours, where all hope seemed to be lost,” said Candice. Candice Bowman considers herself lucky. Not only was her cancer detected early, but she has had an amazing family by her side throughout the entire process. Her two remarkable daughters, selfless husband, loving mother and caring mother-in-law have all helped her in more ways than she can express. With the support of her family and a shift in perspectives, Candice is making it through her journey, one day at a time.

Dr. Precious Taylor-Clifton woke up one morning with a fever and extreme pain in her breast. Just a few months beforehand, she had found a lump in her breast, but figured she had somehow hurt herself. “The thought never crossed my mind that it was cancer,” said Precious. After all, there was no history of cancer in her family. After months of questions, tests and second opinions, Precious was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. “I remember when my husband and I were listening to the doctor. It felt like I was not present,” she recalled. “I was physically there, but everything he was saying did not register in my brain, it did not sound like he was speaking to me.” Although her immediate family did not live in the area, she still received an abundance of support. She spoke to family every day after her surgery. Her son flew from New York to stay with her, her husband and friends from church made meals for her and even accompanied her to doctors’ appointments. Despite all of the challenges that Precious faced, she maintained her faith. The love and support of her community was endless. When the frustration of the journey became too heavy, she took as much time as she needed to re-group and refocus her mind on the blessings of God and serving others. “I also keep busy helping others,” said Precious. “I sew for an organization that supports kids going through cancer. Once a month, we make pillowcases and send them to hospitals for the kids… Every day, I thank God for another chance.”

“How much time do I have to live?” Silvia De Alba recalled thinking when she received her diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer in March 2014. She had been living a happy and peaceful life up to that moment, but with this life-altering news, she had a thousand unanswered questions. As her treatment began, she drew strength from her family and her will to live was fueled by the need to be there for her son with special needs. Through her journey, she has discovered a renewed appreciation for life and encourages others to seek hope and inspiration from fellow survivors. “The Pink Ribbon Place has been so helpful with their support group, they have become my second family. For those of you beginning your journey, the help is there for you; all you have to do is reach out.”

In August 2014, Rosa Garcia’s husband felt a small lump in her right breast. She went for diagnostic services and was told that the lump was noncancerous. But in March 2015, the lump seemed to become harder and she started feeling a strange sensation in her breast. She returned for a second round of tests and just before Mother’s Day her worst fears were confirmed; she was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. After further tests, she discovered that her lungs and liver were also affected, advancing her diagnosis to Stage IV. “You know what this means for you; it is not good,” Rosa remembers her first oncologist saying. “For a moment, I thought I would die and started planning,” Rosa said. She started researching and reaching out to others who had similar diagnoses. She discovered that it was possible to live with cancer and set her mind to being in the percentage of those who did. She sought a second opinion with a medical group that helped her focus her energy on being proactive and hopeful. “There is no ‘I’ in cancer. Without support, it would have been very difficult. My kids gave me the reason to fight. My husband gave me the love and strength. My family, friends and co-workers gave me kind words and hope,” she said. Rosa visits her doctor every three to four months and received PET scans every six months and to this day, her body shows no signs of cancer. “I think of only today, which is not easy because I am a planner. I am grateful for every day; I take the time to enjoy nature, the colors in the sky and special moments with my kids,” she said.

Irma Armendariz, a mother of four and wife to a loving husband, was diagnosed with Stage II cancer that progressed to her lymph nodes. “What will my family do if they lose me?” she asked herself. Though the news was hard on Irma, it also took a toll on her family. Her husband supported her through every doctor’s appointment and chemotherapy treatment while her son kept her company in the late evenings, when neither could sleep. Her youngest daughter worked around the clock to keep her mom’s spirits up, but her other two daughters were engulfed in fear. Cancer was not only physically effecting Irma, it also impacted the entire family. Never having seen their mother ill before, both of her older daughters grew distant. Irma’s treatment went well and she is now back to work. She will be on medication for the next five years with regular checkups to ensure that the cancer does not progress further. Although there are days that Irma still wonders why this had to happen to her, she focuses on staying strong for her family, especially her daughters.

Michelle Quillen’s world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with HER2+ and estrogen positive, Stage II breast cancer in July 2017. As a single mom, her immediate and greatest fear was leaving her daughter without a mom. Though the diagnosis was horrific, sharing the news with her daughter was even more excruciating, “Telling my baby I had cancer had to be one of the worst moments of my life,” she said. During her treatment, Michelle faced recurring infections and severely low electrolyte levels, both of which left her in and out of the hospital, sometimes for a week at a time. The time apart and severity of Michelle’s complications, left her feeling as though she would never feel good again. Determined to not lose heart, Michelle started to listen to positive meditations and music, while making mental notes of all of the good in her life. As time passed, Michelle finally began to feel better. Hospital stays become less frequent and her perspective on life began to morph as well. Her exercises in focusing on the positive began to take hold. She is still on Herceptin and hormonal therapy, but is now living a more full life, enjoying each day she gets to spend with her daughter.

Although catching breast cancer at an early stage is the best of bad news, it does not mean that the treatment will be a walk in the park. Maria Guadalupe Ramirez was diagnosed with breast cancer in February of 2015. She underwent mastectomy in March, followed by six -rounds of chemotherapy and three months of Herceptin. The hair loss and chemotherapy side-effects were strenuous. There were many days that Maria felt like giving up, but her faith and family’s love and support encouraged her to remember that the pain and sadness of this disease were only temporary. Three years from her diagnosis, Maria reflects on her journey, now that the worst is in the past. “I’ve learned to suffer, learned to fight and learned to survive,” said Maria.

In January 1999, Carmen McHugh was diagnosed with breast cancer. She began treatment immediately and only a few months later, after her second round of chemotherapy, her husband [James] had two seizures back to back. Carmen, James and their two children, ages 12 and 14, huddled in the cramped emergency room, waiting for answers. “I remember my hair falling out in clumps onto the emergency room floor as we waited,” she recalled. When the doctor came in, we chose to hear the news as a family. That is when a bad year got even worse. On March 2000, Carmen’s husband was diagnosed with brain cancer. “We only cried together twice as a family. First, when I was diagnosed and second, when he was diagnosed. The rest of the time we joked and tried to keep things as normal as possible,” she said. So the pair embarked on their journey together, they attended chemotherapy treatments together, scheduled their radiation on the same days, went bald together and laughed together. “Through the roughest days and the worst news, my husband stayed positive and joking. When I had my mastectomy, he told me, ‘It’s ok, I didn’t like that one anyways.’ We both laughed and moved on,” she said. As James’s brain tumors began to progress, Carmen found herself stepping into the role of caregiver despite her own illness. When he began to lose balance and memory, Carmen realized the severity of his condition and knew that while his spirits uplifted her, he needed her now, more than ever. “I believe that the day I found out about his cancer, God cured me so that I could take care of him. I was able to care for him until the very end and he never lost his spirit,” Carmen said. James passed away in July 2000, just shortly after their family celebrated a beautiful quinceañera for their daughter. 19 years have passed since Carmen first faced her diagnosis. She holds tightly to the memory of James by cherishing the good memories and honoring him by loving her second chance at life.

Donna Stumpf’s journey with cancer started long before she was diagnosed. In August 2013, she felt a lump in her breast. Uninsured, she worried about how she would pay for the treatment, if the lump was, indeed, cancerous. The fear of health care costs kept Donna from getting checked out until August 2014, when she became insured. Donna did not receive her breast cancer diagnosis until November 2014. “I did not ask much about the type or stage I had; I wanted to go into this fight, just fighting. I did not want to look it up on the internet and fill my mind with negative thoughts that could affect my treatment,” said Donna. As Donna began her treatment, she soon discovered that her breast cancer had metastasized into her bones. “There have been many up and down moments in the last four years. It was hard losing my hair. I do not think any woman is ever totally prepared to be bald. I felt like a monster without my hair,” Donna said. In addition to the struggles with self-image, Donna was also struck by the gravity of solitude. Her low, white blood cell count forced her to stay out of public places and away from friends, which allowed loneliness to creep in. Although Donna felt it very difficult to share her news with family and friends, she gradually built the courage to be more open about her situation. “Throughout this journey, I’ve learned to speak up and let others know when I need extra help,” Donna said. As she became more transparent with others about what she was going through, she found that good and kind people were all around her, willing to help her in more ways than she could list. Donna is currently taking Ibrance and Letrozol to control the cancer’s growth, but will be on a form of treatment for the rest of her life. She has recently joined a metastatic support group at The Pink Ribbon Place and has found that she is not alone. There are others, right here in the Inland Empire, who know exactly what she is going through. “This is a war and every treatment is a battle. Don’t focus on winning the war, but defeating and standing strong in each battle,” said Donna.

It was Friday, June 16, 2017. Jennifer Potter was wrapping up her work week and preparing for a day of fun at The Aquarium of the Pacific, to celebrate her daughter’s 2nd birthday. As she went on her lunch break, she noticed a series of missed calls from her doctor’s office. She returned the calls and was asked to come in for her test results. “It was all a blurr…” Jennifer recalled. Only a month prior, Jennifer had begun to feel a pain in her breast. It became so extreme that even showering was painful. Her doctor recommended an ultrasound and biopsy, but neither suspected what was soon to become Jennifer’s reality. Jennifer was only 33 and her family had no history of breast cancer. So, her diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma came as quite a shock. The following months were a whirlwind of uncertainty, filled with chemotherapy, hospital stays, surgery and physical changes. With the support of her family, Jennifer made it to recovery and is in remission today. She still struggles with the physical side effects of the treatment, but chooses to focus on the positive and encourages others who are diagnosed to do the same. “For me, cancer was just a moment in time and a moment that will not define my life.”