Breast Cancer Survivor Helps Underinsured, Latina Women Get Help

A breast cancer diagnosis is devastating enough, but what if you're poor and you don't speak English, you're missing appointments, you can't read prescriptions and you don't understand what decisions you need to make. That's where Dora Arias came in. She bridges the gap for Latina breast cancer patients. Through her own battle with breast cancer, she helps other women truly do not understand how to navigate this challenging road. I received the phone call. I was at work and, really caught me off guard, He said "You have breast cancer I'm sorry" And that's when I broke down. I started crying. Luckily my husband worked 3 blocks away. I called him and I said Honey we need to go home right now. I have breast cancer. And we cried that night. We held each other tight. Because we didn't know. What to expect. You completely shut down. When you're diagnosed with breast cancer, you completely shut down. It is the fear. You don't know what to ask. You don't know what to expect. You're hoping you're in good hands. I was very comfortable with him. He explained all the different options for me. And it dawned on me... having these conversations with my husband. What do other women do when they don't have insurance? What do other women do when they don't speak the language and understand what the doctors are telling them? How do they navigate the system because it is so difficult especially when you have so much anxiety and stress. This passion came about that I just wanted to help others. Curemonos is a nonprofit organization that I established 3 years ago and it means healing together. And our mission is to help medically underserved and uninsured women affected by breast cancer. We provide services, interpretation, we advocate for patients, we connect them to resources. If you don't have insurance and you're poor, it's a totally different type of situation than someone that does have insurance, someone that does have the economic means, that does have, that do have the support structures. So I started doing it um helping women in the community obtain free mammograms. For the ones that were diagnosed with breast cancer, I would help them navigate the system. For Latinas that did not speak the language, I would interpret for them. I would go with them to the doctors' appointments. I even provided transportation. I would drive them in my car to the doctors' appointments. I reached out to over 500 women , provided education. I've helped over a hundred women diagnosed with breast cancer or in need of a mammogram. And there's nothing more rewarding to have that smile at the end say thank you. That has been my biggest reward.