My name is Dodi Emmons. I live in Washington, Texas with my husband John we have been married since 1995. We have 6 children and 8 grandchildren and 5 cats. We take care of my mom, Janice who lives on our property and is a survivor.
Cancer touched my life for the first time when I was 15 years old. My Grandmother, my Mom Mom , was diagnosed with uterine cancer. I didn’t realize at that time I was a caregiver, all I knew was that she needed me to help her. Unfortunately, my Mom Mom lost her battle that same year. I remember my 16th birthday I kept waiting for her to come over so that we could celebrate. We have had several family members who have had cancer. When my Daddy was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, I became his caregiver. This was a very difficult time. He was told that he only had 3 months to live, but by the grace of God we had him for 17 months. During this time my step-mom Rona was diagnosed with colon cancer; and she passed away. We buried her on her 66th birthday. In 2019 my mom, Janice was diagnosed with 2 types of skin cancer. She is cancer free. If not for my involvement with Relay For Life and being a Voice of Hope I would have been totally lost.
I have been involved with RFL of Grimes County since 1996 and still serve on RFL Event Leadership team. I became a Voice of Hope in 2018. I’m an ACT Lead for district 10 Texas with ASC CAN
Being a Voice of Hope allows me to share my stories of hope with others. And Hope that someday we will only read about cancer in a history book.