Finding support away from home

Months ahead of her 40th birthday, Olivia Garcia-Gonzalez had never had a mammogram. Getting screened for breast cancer didn’t seem necessary. She was too young, or at least that’s what she thought. 

That assumption was challenged in September of 2020 by a lump Olivia found in her left breast. Originally from Mexico, she didn’t have family nearby outside of her husband. Compounding that sense of isolation was the pandemic.

“I was really scared,” Olivia said. “My husband and I moved to the U.S., and we are here alone.”

A mammogram followed by a biopsy confirmed Olivia’s worst fear: She had Stage 1 breast cancer. But, as it turned out, she and her husband weren’t alone. They had Pink Ribbon Girls to lean on. 

Olivia was initially hesitant to utilize the services of Pink Ribbon Girls. That is until her husband was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early 2021. PRG was there for the couple to relieve the burden of cooking while also connecting Olivia with other cancer survivors in the St. Louis region. 

“I was kind of too proud in the beginning,” Olivia said. “Like, ‘I can do this on my own.’ It’s so hard to be humble and use the help that is offered.”

Olivia, who works in agriculture, moved to the United States at the end of 2019 for a job with Bayer, headquartered in St. Louis. Three months later, the pandemic hit the U.S. and – seven months after that – Olivia’s life was further turned upside down by a cancer diagnosis.

Olivia said she didn’t have to wait for the news from her doctor to detect it wasn’t going to be good. 

“It was very ominous, … I saw on their faces that something was not right,” Olivia said. “I was really anxious – I experienced anxiety attacks (after finding out I had cancer). Finally, we had to accept, ‘OK, it is cancer, and we have to face it.’”

Olivia received a lumpectomy in December of 2020. She hoped she would only need radiation after that, but cancer cells were detected in her lymph nodes, and she began chemotherapy the next month at St. Luke’s.

A social worker informed Olivia of Pink Ribbon Girls’ free services of meals, rides to treatment, house cleaning and peer support, but Olivia didn’t think she needed any of them. Her reluctance was fueled by pride as well as cultural norms she had internalized living in Mexico, where she said talking about breast cancer is considered taboo.

Olivia’s attitude on the matter began to change during her second round of chemotherapy when her husband began experiencing aches. He had been taking care of the cooking and other roles Olivia was too weak to perform herself. Suddenly, he began feeling weak, too. 

Olivia reconsidered Pink Ribbon Girls when her husband tested positive for COVID-19.

“I was very worried about my husband,” Olivia said. “So I said, ‘Yeah, now it’s time.’” 

It took Olivia’s husband more than a month to recover from the coronavirus, during which the couple began receiving PRG’s free healthy meals, prepared by Sunbasket and delivered right to their doorstep once a week. 

“It was awesome because I didn’t have to cook,” Olivia said. “Every meal was a relief to have something.”

The meals weren’t the only thing that helped Olivia get through such a trying and scary year. She grew to rely on other PRG clients through the St. Louis region’s network of peer support. 

Among Olivia’s favorite local events was the 2021 Survivor Celebration & Warrior Walk, held in June at St. Louis Premium Outlets. Olivia was among the hundreds of women who gathered for a free breakfast and a half-mile walk to celebrate each other. 

Olivia said seeing other women who were thriving years – sometimes decades – removed from their own battles with cancer gave her hope that she, too, could conquer hers.

“It was overwhelming,” Olivia said. “Recognizing I’m not alone really, really cheered me up.”

After six rounds of chemotherapy and 21 days of radiation, Olivia is cancer-free. She got the news in October of 2021 – exactly one year after her diagnosis. 

Olivia said she’s grateful she didn’t have to go through her battle without Pink Ribbon Girls. 

“Last year, I think without those (support) groups, I would have gone crazy because of the isolation,” Olivia said. “It has been a joy to connect with other people and share our experiences and share in the common challenges that we face.”