
OUR STORY

Raquel Duterte

As a young girl, when my grandfather died of cancer, I was made aware of how deadly this disease can be. Since then, a few cousins and recently a dear uncle have succumbed to this awful enemy. All of us know someone that's been impacted by cancer. What I know now is that early detection (and God) saves lives. Often through screening they can catch this disease when it is most treatable. My mother had breast cancer twice and survived it. With this knowledge, I started screening at the age of 35. As a Christian, a physical therapist and life coach, I still was not prepared for my life-changing diagnosis. My earth-shattering journey started with a phone call from my doctor on Christmas week. She was kind, empathetic, and was also blindsided like myself as she shared the news of malignancy and the next steps I had to take. Obviously, I cried a river, sought help and cried more. I went through multiple surgical procedures and had serious complications. Not to mention dealing with an autoimmune disease and then Lyme disease treatments following recovery from all procedures. My God is faithful and He never left my side. He blessed me with a loving husband, supportive family, awesome friends near and far, prayer warriors who circled around me, interceded, lifted me up and covered me with their love and prayers. The daily struggle is real. I am a fighter so I decide to survive and thrive in this season. I choose to overcome pain, fear, fatigue and most importantly despair. I learned to live and eat clean (but I do splurge sometimes because nothing is going to stop me from food and fun). Carpe Diem. I am new to sharing all this info but I'm here to show up and speak truth, and bring awareness that will help others. The Cancer diagnosis and preceding treatments, like facing surgery to remove the malignancy was daunting and overwhelming and the rapid, crucial, multiple life altering health decisions I had to make in a short period of time. Sharing my personal experience and recovery to my dear friend Joyce was enlightening and healing. Together, with our friend Sharon we founded our awesome team. Our mission and vision is to support wellness, restore dignity to women undergoing medical treatment and or surgical procedure, assist in making recovery as smooth and seamless as possible with style and comfort by providing access to essentials needed for healing and recovery.