Giving Cancer the Boot 2022
In Partnership with Links for Life
Amy Padilla’s Story.
I’m Amy. I found out that I had cancer 13 years ago after a self-examination where I found a lump. At twenty-nine-years-old, I had stage 3 breast cancer and made the realization that my life was to change forever. Over the years I’ve had many surgeries, undergone chemotherapy treatment, and radiation, and have experienced temporary heart problems. I’m thankful to have fully recovered. Prior, I had been very active and healthy with no family history of the disease. I’m currently a working active proud mom of a young son. I’ve defeated the odds and come out on the other side stronger and wiser about life. I choose to lead with kindness, cherish family, friends, and every single day because none of us are promised tomorrow.
Gabriela Vasquez’s Story.
My name is Gabriela Vasquez. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 31. I am now a five-year breast cancer survivor but the battle is far from over! I vowed from the start to make my journey meaningful and to make a difference in my community along the way. I hope that, in sharing my story, I am able to help remind others that we must our own advocates and be proactive in monitoring our own health.
I first learned about Links for Life through a friend not long after my diagnosis. I attended my first support meeting in early March of 2017 and I felt welcomed in the company of my survivor sisters immediately. I’ve been attending those very same support meetings ever since and I’m eternally grateful for all that I’ve experienced in the company of so many strong women.
The impact on my life cannot be fully measured as Links for Life has provided so much support from the emotional to the physical. Over the course of my fellowship with Links for Life I’ve been filled with hope and an unshakable desire to pay it forward and help future survivors on their journey to remission. It’s almost impossible to understate the positive effect that an organization like Links for Life can have on a future survivor’s journey.
Kara Cagle’s Story.
I am a ten year survivor of Triple Negative Breast Cancer and BRCA+1! My diagnosis was a rarer form of breast cancer that usually affected younger women and had a higher recurrence rate than most. I was a newly single mother with three young children and no job. But I had a Big God! By my faith, family, and friends, I was able to navigate several surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation over the course of the next two years. To say it was a difficult time would be an understatement. But it is through the valleys in which we grow and develop strength, endurance, and compassion. After my “c” journey, I went through ministry school for two years and then became a chaplain. I was determined to help others going through a similar journey. I also went back to school full time for two years while I worked full time and got my teaching credential. This year marks my sixth year as a kindergarten teacher. My God is so good! Along the way, God brought amazing people into my life. Some of those people are fellow survivors. I joined Links for Life about 1 ½ years into my journey and now I have life-long sisters/friends. Our life journeys can be difficult, but we do not have to travel them alone. With God we can do anything.
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” - Jeremiah 29:11