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Renee Flores-Congote

Hello, my name is Renee Flores-Congote and its September 2010 and exactly 8 years ago when I received the call from my OB/GYN that I had Stage 3 Breast Cancer.  I remember that my heart stopped and my eyes began filling it up with tears.  At age 39 and just giving birth to our only child, Dominick just 18 months prior how could this be.  Little did I know that this would be my most challenging life experience emotionally, physically and financially. 

Immediately, I met with a surgeon who suggested 4 months of aggressive Chemotherapy treatments and then a radical mastectomy along with removal of positive lymph nodes. He set up the appointment for the next day to meet with an oncologist.  I met with the oncologist the next day and starting treatment and I had very difficult veins and was poked about 10 times from my arms to my hands.  I am not very good with needles so for me the anxiety was overwhelming.  On the first treatment my hair began to come out like cotton candy and my body changed in so many ways from my nails becoming brittle and thin with dark black bands on them to my knees hurting like knife stabs along with my mouth scores. By the second treatment a port a cath was surgically installed into my chest for easy access for the chemotherapy since my veins were becoming an issue.  My will to live was crucial for my son Dominick.  I recall wanting to give up several times because the chemotherapy made me ill for long periods and without any energy and so many surgeries and infections that I just couldn’t take it and I wanted to quit but my husband Johnny wouldn’t allow me to give up and he would say” don’t do it for me, don’t do it for yourself, do it for Dominick”.  Any mention of Dominick I would stop the crying or complaining.  It’s amazing the strength we can gain from our children and how much we can endure.

It was only 2 years later, 4 months of Chemotherapy and 8 surgeries later that I was able to return back to work.    Was it all worth the fight?  ABSOLUTELY!  You hear the word Cancer and you immediately think of death.  I am here to tell you to fight, know your body, get routine check ups and importantly know your family history. I have never regretted being diagnosed with Cancer. I learned to appreciate my family, friends and my life so much more.  My faith to be positive played a big role in healing along with so many family and friends that stuck me and my family. 

My advice to other women is please get checked out routinely, know your family history and let your doctor know if there is history of breast cancer.  If you are diagnosed you are not alone.  Talk to other woman and there experiences of what works and doesn’t.  The best support group is other woman who has survived. 

I always look forward to our big supporters like Sutter Home or City of Hope for their events were I get to meet and see other survivors. We have such an amazing bond and we all share our stories and it’s my one time out of the year that I have a good cry and reflect how darn lucky and blessed we all are to be alive.