Our "A Calendar to Live By" features 11 survivors we serve through Here for the Girls programs and their inspiring, uplifting stories about their cancer journey. Get to know this month's model, Letoria!
32, Diagnosed at 29
3rd degree family history – no known genetic mutation
Life was flourishing for this fun-loving, jubilant mother of three daughters with a new baby and new career as a pharmacy technician. That all changed when her family doctor ordered a biopsy on the lump Letoria had noticed during the third trimester of her pregnancy and that her OB/GYN had attributed to a clogged milk duct. The biopsy results came back abnormal, and the only way to rule out cancer was to remove the lump and test it. With so much going on in her life, Letoria chose to delay further testing. But the strange lump and the unanswered questions—lingered. When Letoria took action nearly a year later, the diagnosis was clear: stage II breast cancer. After careful consideration (and many tears), she had a bilateral mastectomy, breast reconstruction, and radiation. Today she’s healthy and back to work as a pharmacy tech, substitute teacher, and youth volunteer who coaches kids on finding their passions. Letoria especially wants to thank her three daughters for the strength she gained from them. In Beyond Boobs!, Letoria has found a support network of women who “relate not just to the diagnosis, but to the lifelong changes caused by breast cancer.”