Exposing a Hidden Enemy

Cancer isn’t always easy to find. Sometimes cancer hides, waiting for the perfect moment to attack. Diana experienced the latter.

It was the winter of 2020 when Diana first suspected something was wrong. She went to her doctor, who performed a mammogram. Nothing showed up. An ultrasound and three breast biopsies also came up clear. Finally, the doctors did five biopsies of Diana’s lymph nodes. “I was diagnosed with one of the five lymph nodes that were biopsied,” said Diana.

A previously hidden enemy was now exposed. But as Diana found out, cancer doesn’t surrender easily. The war was just beginning.

A Lost Cause...

As if being diagnosed with cancer wasn’t bad enough, Diana is unemployed. Medical bills piled up alongside her usual expenses. Her small town couldn’t provide the care she needed.

“I needed 12 rounds of chemotherapy,” said Diana, “and I decided to go to MD Anderson Mays Clinic.”

Unfortunately, Diana couldn’t fly during the pandemic. She’d have to drive to MD Anderson. The round trip spans almost 350 miles. Diana couldn’t afford gas for traveling such a long distance. If she couldn’t get to the care she needed, inflammatory breast cancer would kill her. It felt like trying to beat cancer was a lost cause.

...Now Won

Sometimes, the lost causes are truly worth fighting for. At a critical point, Diana found out about Mercy Medical Angels’ ground transportation program. The charity sent her gas cards, so she could pay for the travel to and from MD Anderson. Diana said, “I wouldn’t have been able to receive the care I needed if it weren’t for Mercy Medical Angels.”



Fighter and Survivor

Recently, Diana sent a selfie to Mercy Medical Angels. She smiles with bold lipstick, her deep eyes shining with confidence. Her dark hair is growing back from the chemo, rising like smoke from the fire. She wears a pink flowered dress and matching statement earrings, proving that beauty can grow from adversity.

She is a true fighter and survivor. Thanks to Mercy Medical Angels’ ground transportation program, Diana stands triumphant against breast cancer – a warrior in pink.