Nothing can prepare you for a cancer diagnosis — ever — but especially in your 20s. For Caroline, battling cancer at age 28 was the last thing she expected at a time when her career and life were just falling into place.
Because of cancer research, I am alive and well, living a full life with my two daughters. Research gave me more time.
Caroline was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancerous tissue tumor, in 2013. It took a significant toll on her physical and mental health. Suddenly, her life was consumed with her diagnosis and every stage of the cancer journey — the decision making, navigation of options, treatments, interventions, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and the long-term effects of the disease.
Living in Puerto Rico, she did not have access to as many resources and faced challenges knowing how to cover exorbitant costs and receive authorizations for life-saving studies. On top of fighting cancer, Caroline also faced the difficulty of learning how to navigate treatment and the complex health care system.
Originally thought to be fibroids, the day of her surgery, her doctors were being trained by an oncologist on a new robotic surgery technique. Due to this new technique, the oncologist was able to diagnose her cancer, Leiomyosarcoma, and the tumor was removed.
She has since been cancer-free. Due to the hysterectomy, she thought she would never become a mother, but she has adopted two daughters, and they have become her purpose and joy. Without the advances made in cancer research, Caroline might not be here today. She continues to use her voice to advocate for further investment in cancer research and prevention programs.