Every October, Alison Garza’s children participate in their school’s annual “Pink Out” event, a fundraiser designed to raise money for Michelle’s Place. So, she was familiar with the organization, but she never imagined she’d turn to Michelle’s Place during her own treatment journey.
A young mom of three daughters ages 5, 10 and 12, Alison was just emerging from the post-COVID bubble in the fall of 2021. Her children had returned to in-person school and she was looking forward to more free time at home. Then, in November, at age 35, her busy life came to a screeching halt.
“I started to feel a painful sensation in my left breast,” says Alison. “It would come and go, which isn’t a common breast cancer symptom, but since my grandmother had been diagnosed with the disease twice, I wanted to get it checked out.” That decision may have saved her life.
Navigating a Terrifying Diagnosis
Soon Alison’s free time was filled with doctor’s appointments several times each week. She went through a series of testing, including mammography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and she felt her grandmother with her at every leg of the journey.
“I had terrible medical anxiety, but I figured if my grandmother could do a breast MRI at twice my age, I could do it, too,” Alison says. Alison’s imaging exams uncovered three suspicious lesions in her left breast in an entirely different area from where she was experiencing pain. It was as if her body was sending alarm bells, pointing her — and the doctors — in the general direction where something was amiss.
Diagnosed with stage 1 c estrogen and progesterone positive breast cancer, Alison felt tremendous gratitude for the pain she’d been feeling — the symptom that brought her in for testing in the first place. And even though genetic testing revealed no known inherited mutations, Alison chose the most aggressive treatment approach, a double mastectomy, hoping to sidestep radiation and chemotherapy.
Unfortunately, genetic testing of her tumor after surgery revealed that Alison needed additional treatment. “It turns out, I had the same type of cancer as my grandmother,” says Alison. So she signed herself up for four cycles of chemotherapy, but she was able to skip radiation.
Finding Community
When Alison learned she would need chemotherapy, she was terrified. She felt so lost and alone. Her denial, too, was palpable. “I felt like I’d done everything right,” she says. She had three children at an early age and breastfed all of them. She’d even donated hundreds of ounces of milk to Mother’s Milk Bank to nourish premature babies. And she hadn’t yet reached the age when screening was recommended.
Because Alison was so distraught, a friend called Michelle’s Place on her behalf. “I was so nervous, but as soon as I walked through the doors at Michelle’s Place, I knew I’d found my community,” Alison says. “I had a chemo meltdown right by the front doors and it felt as if the staff at Michelle’s place just carried me through it.”
Surrounded by women who were diagnosed young, but reached the other side of cancer and were now thriving was like a healing balm for her. Staff armed her with a “chemo kit” featuring a slew of comfort care items to help her navigate chemotherapy. They gave her grocery store gift cards to lighten the financial load. And every week or two she received a check-in call. “It’s like they were all watching out for me,” Alison says.
Giving Back
By the time Alison completed chemotherapy and recovered from reconstructive surgery in June, Breast Cancer Awareness Month was looming. She knew October would feel different this year and she wanted to feel supported, but also to give back.
“I didn’t want to sit at home and feel overwhelmed, and I had a lot of friends asking me what they could do to support me through the month of October,” Alison says. “So on the eve of October 1, I decided: I’m going to make T-shirts.”
Soon that thought became reality and she began made batches of T-shirts. Some said, “In October We Wear Pink” while others said, “In October We Wear Pink for Alison.” “With the sales of those T-shirts, I ended up making $840 for Michelle’s Place,” she says. “The T-Shirts were a hit at the girls’ school and it was so fun to walk on campus and see so many kids and parents wearing them.”
Now nearly one year out from treatment, Alison donates her time to Michelle’s Place, too. “When I walked through the doors at Michelle’s Place, there were other people like me who greeted me with open arms,” Alison says. “I knew I wanted to be that for someone else.” And she has. These days, you can find her fitting clients for wigs, giving them site tours, and signing them up for classes. “I wish every city had a Michelle’s Place,” Alison says. “It’s a community of caring.”
