Erika Gonzalez hesitated when her healthcare team said she’d need chemotherapy and radiation to beat her breast cancer diagnosis.
“I have to think about it,” she recalls saying.
She was only 28 years old, in the middle of a dental assistant program and facing a long and difficult road to recovery. But there were other worries, too.
“It was a big decision because I didn’t want to lose my hair,” said Gonzalez, now 30 years old and in remission after receiving treatment at Peeples Cancer Institute (PCI) at Hamilton Medical Center, part of Vitruvian Health. “But I guess I quickly came to my senses and decided this is what I have to do.”
In the United States, the average age of diagnosis is 62, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. But younger women — and men — can get cancer, too. Those younger than 45 make up 9 percent of new cases.
Gonzalez has had it twice. She was 26 at the first diagnosis and had just recovered from COVID-19 when she noticed drainage that led her to seek medical attention. Coincidentally, she was diagnosed in October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. After learning she had a type of breast cancer that affects the cells of the milk ducts, Gonzalez had a mastectomy in late 2020.
But two years later, she had a cancer recurrence in the same breast, this time HER-2 positive with a type of protein that encourages cancer cells to grow quickly. Her care team quickly created a plan for her to undergo general chemotherapy, targeted chemotherapy and radiation.
Treatment was difficult, she said, but she also found a surprising strength along the way.
‘What helped me through’
After her first chemo session, Gonzalez wasn’t sure she could make herself return. But a strong support team helped her survive. Her mother stayed with her during treatments, and her sister drove her home. The doctors, nurses and support staff were all encouraging and kind, she said. When side effects surfaced, they were quick to help manage them.
She said she was grateful for all the people she met and connected with. Small gestures along the way made a difference — blankets and pillows during treatment, breakfast and lunch provided for her and her mother, who stayed with her during appointments, quick attention to mitigate uncomfortable side effects.
“Kim Bailey (nurse practitioner at PCI) and I built a very special connection and got really close,” Gonzalez said. “We became family, and we even got to the point where we were able to open up about personal stuff.”
At the same time, Gonzalez received support from a local church she had recently started attending with a friend as she explored her faith while battling depression and uncertainty around her life direction. After the first service, Gonzalez felt a sense of peace and belonging.
“I wish I could do this every day,” she remembers telling her friend. “It’s very beautiful, and I love it.”
A friend connected her with the church’s cancer support group, and its leader became her spiritual father, she said.
“What helped me through was mostly the people that I got to meet, but, most importantly, I felt like I had an awakening that only God understands exactly what you’re going through and how you’re feeling,” Gonzalez said. “God was the one that got me through it, but he also placed great people in my life to help me with the situation.”
Ways to help
During treatment, very little of her routine was the same as before. She dropped out of the dental assistant program she was in, left her job, and began to focus full-time on getting well.
She slept up to 12 hours a day. When she felt strong enough, she walked around the neighborhood, pieced together jigsaw puzzles, filled in coloring books. Meeting up with friends was difficult due to scheduling and the demands of her treatment, but the times she was able to were vital.
Friends and family can face their own grief and may not know how to handle it, she said. At one point, a person close to her told her not to cry during treatments.
“At that time, it was kind of hurtful because that was my way of expressing what I was going through,” Gonzalez said. “I wish they had just cried with me instead. I felt like I had to be stronger than everyone else around me, even though I was the one going through it. It was tough.”
But other comments were encouraging. One friend in particular typed out personal prayers through text — a gesture Gonzalez said meant the world.
‘You have to appreciate life’
After her treatments concluded, Gonzalez returned to finish the dental assistant program requirements and became certified a year ago. She works at a local manufacturing company but hopes to one day put her certification to use.
Before chemo, Gonzalez thought losing her hair would be the worst part of treatment. Everyone who sees a person without hair immediately knows they are ill, she said. Eventually, Gonzalez did end up shaving her head before her hair all fell out, but the move was more liberating than sad, she said. She picked out a long pink wig and wore it to a concert.
Today, she attends PCI’s monthly cancer support meetings which provide space for survivors and patients to mingle and share stories and encouragement.
“I’m glad that now I can hopefully help others,” Gonzalez said. “As bad as it sounds, I’m grateful that I can still share my experience.”
Facing her own mortality at a young age changed her outlook.
“Now, you have to appreciate life — and live life — and do what’s important,” Gonzalez said. “Yes, you have to work to survive, but there are other things you also have to make a priority.”
And, she said, never take the little things for granted.