Before her diagnosis, Connie had recently bought a new house, loved taking care of her grandkids, and was planning a new life ahead of her with her fiancé. Life was good.
Connie realized something was wrong with her health when she had a subtle achy pain in her right lower side for many months. She never thought too much of it until she started bleeding and had not had her period in many years. When the bleeding had not gone away, Connie had gone to the hospital, but with so many COVID patients, she was advised to see a specialized doctor instead. Connie found out about her cancer when she went to the gynecologist and had a pap smear. With further tests, the doctors had found a tumor on Connie’s ovary and a biopsy had revealed endometrial cancer in December 2021.
Connie had surgery to take her tumor out and blood transfusions in March 2021. She also went through 6 months of chemotherapy and had lost all of her hair and her skin had started to turn black and blue. Although, the biggest challenge Connie had faced during her treatments was losing her health insurance and then losing her job after her doctor approved that she could return. This left her with multiple bills to pay from her treatments, as well as food and money insufficiency. Connie felt like everything was crumbling all around her, and all the other agencies that were supposed to be able to help her were rude and mean and made her feel like an inconvenience.
Connie learned about Bringing Hope Home from her surgeon’s nurse, who directed her to a social worker named Devon. With Devon’s help, Connie applied for our Light of Hope Family Grant Program. Through the Light of Hope Program, we were able to help Connie pay for her mortgage and give her acme gift cards, so she could pay for food.
Connie says that Bringing Hope Home really did bring hope to her and made her feel like she wasn’t alone and that she had a support system she could reach out to if she ever needed anything.
“It overwhelmed me to know Bringing Hope Home cared so much about me and was so loving and caring. Bringing Hope Home does what they say they are going to do, which was a blessing to me. I was so used to people never keeping their word and seeing me as an inconvenience.”
Although Connie’s journey has not been an easy one, that does not stop her from having a positive outlook on life and her situation. Connie puts her trust in God and keeps a smile on her face and her head up high.
“ I always look on the bright side. That everything is going to be okay and that it is going to be just fine. I knew god would never leave my side, and I put my hands in his hands.”
Advice she has for others battling cancer is to get a positive mindset and to make sure you have someone there for you, because you can’t do this journey by yourself, no matter how strong you think you are.
Today, Connie is on maintenance medication and has two more infusion treatments left. Connie will be cancer free for 1 year in March 2022 and feels great.
Interview and article by BHH intern Lauren Dean