Maria S’s Story

Hi, my name is Maria.

I am 30 years old, currently fighting stage 3 ductal carcinoma. I was diagnosed in June of 2023. My soulmate, my grandmother, had just passed away, so I thought I had been sick from grieving so intensely. However, it took 3 months of fighting and 4 ER visits for a doctor to finally listen and send me for a mammogram since everyone else considered me too young to need one. Immediately after the mammogram, I was told I needed a biopsy as soon as possible. Within two days, I was scheduled for it, and three days later, I had the results. Unfortunately, a week later, I had to be hospitalized because my biopsy incision was infected from the tumor. I was there for two weeks, and during that time, an oncologist from City of Hope across the street came to see me and she wanted to take my case. I got my port placement while in the hospital, and immediately when I got released, I started my chemo journey.

I took Four AC treatments and 15 of Taxol. During this time, I went through intense anxiety, severe body aches, fatigue, and losing my hair. I thought that was cathartic, but the worst was yet to come. My father and I were the sole breadwinners, so with me being sick, we got really behind with bills. We made paying rent a priority, but unfortunately, we fell back a month and immediately were sent an eviction notice. We were so blindsided because in the 10 years of living there, we had never paid rent late, not even during COVID. The owners knew of my cancer diagnosis and had no compassion. Unfortunately, we had no lawyer, so my dad and I were representing each other against them in court. Unfortunately, I was hospitalized during the day of our court because I had pneumonia from a simple cold.

Since my dad only understands English, he had a hard time during court, and so we were ordered to vacate the home on Christmas Eve. It was so devastating and created so much stress and heartbreak. My mastectomy was coming up, and we had no place to live. Fortunately, my brother talked to his landlord, and he accepted that we could stay during my recovery. My surgery was on January 16th. It’s been very hard mentally because it’s not easy seeing my body so mutilated, but the physical aspect is also hard. Not having a home has been the worst part. On January 31st, I had my post-op and oncology appointment.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get great news. The 20 lymph nodes they removed all came back cancer-positive, which is not a good sign since at the time of my biopsy they were grade 1 and now they were at grade 3. They also discovered micro cancer cells between the layers of my skin. Which, in conclusion, means that chemo was not successful. I was supposed to start radiation in April, but with this diagnosis, I need to start as soon as possible. However, I cannot since I still don’t have full arm mobility. Life has been very stressful and chaotic. I never in my wildest nightmares imagined I would be going through this journey at my young age. But cancer has no age, and I will continue to fight and remain positive through these trials and tribulations. Thank you for considering my story. God bless you.

-Maria