My Name is Mona Escobar, a Triple Negative Breast Cancer Survivor from Houma, Louisiana. I have been a Medical Massage Therapist since 2005. My husband and I have an amazing son, beautiful daughter in law and 3 adorable grand-babies. In 2019, my husband and I were both diagnosed with cancer. My motto became, “No mud, no lotus”, meaning without dirt and mud flowers can’t bloom. Cancer was my mud. God planted me in THIS mud, and I WILL bloom in it! Being a Survivor and Caregiver makes my fight against cancer personal. Our first Relay for Life was 2022. I became so inspired I decided to Join our Leadership Team and become a Voice of Hope to spread the message, “NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE”.
My mom lost her battle to breast cancer in 1989. As I read my mom’s cancer journal, I was amazed by the treatment she didn’t receive, yet at that time she was getting the best care from MD ANDERSON. Thanks to the American Cancer Society’s research, I rang my Cancer Bell of Freedom for my husband and I on July 3, 2019. My cancer journey has taught me 3 things: “Tough times never last, but tough people do”, “No mud, no lotus”, and “Bloom wherever God plants you”.
More than two million people will hear the words, “You Have Cancer” this year. Through the research of the American Cancer Society and BILLIONS of dollars donated by strangers I never met, our cancer outcome was very different. Thanks to THOSE STRANGERS and their donations my husband and I can proudly say, “WE ARE SURVIVORS”. My goal is to encourage and invite everyone to BE THAT STRANGER in someone else’s cancer story, and maybe one day we can all say, “I helped find a cure for cancer”.