Life Just Got Real: My Breast Cancer Journey

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A routine follow-up call turned into the moment everything changed, and we’re not hiding from it. Dora shares how a breast cancer diagnosis cracked open old patterns—people-pleasing, cultural silence around illness, and the habit of being “the strong one”—and how choosing truth over secrecy created a path back to connection. From telling her husband over a chocolate bar in the garage to navigating a maze of tests, timelines, and tough conversations, this episode is a raw portrait of fear, faith, and the fierce boundaries that protect peace.

We talk about the cost of pretending to be fine and the relief in finally saying what’s real. You’ll hear the spiritual tools that keep us grounded—limpias, prayer, journaling, and listening for the ancestors—along with the practical shifts that matter: asking for help, protecting mornings for stillness, and letting others carry part of the weight. We explore what “body as ally” actually means, how symptoms can be messengers when we slow down enough to listen, and why breaking generational patterns of silence is its own kind of medicine.

If you’ve ever felt pressure to hold it all together, this conversation offers a different script. Come for the honest story; stay for the reminder that healing can be medical and spiritual, tender and tough, personal and communal. And if your intuition has been nudging you to get screened, let this be your sign to act. Subscribe, share with someone who needs courage today, and leave a review with the boundary you’re committing to this week—we’d love to hear it.

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Episode Transcript

Dora (00:06):
Hola hola mi gente hermosa welcome back to Ay Mijita
Embracing Your Raíces ReclaimYour Essencia Today's episode is
different.
It's not just about healingfrom generational trauma or
setting boundaries, it's aboutme.
Right now, in real time.
Walking through something Inever thought I'd be talking

(00:30):
about on this mic.
About a month ago, I wasdiagnosed with breast cancer.
And sharing this with you isone of the hardest but also most
freeing things I've ever done.
I don't want pity.
What I want is honesty,connection, and to break the

(00:53):
silence that so many of us areraised with around illness.
So today I'm opening up mycorazon, my heart, and telling
you how this past month hasreally been.
So grab your agüita, cafecito,or whatever your beverage of
choices, and really holdyourself throughout this episode

(01:15):
as I will be doing the same.
So I was actually driving backwith my daughter, and she kind

(01:53):
of knew that I would get thecall.
And when we were driving back,I answered the phone, just
thinking, oh, it's gonna be, youknow, just a follow-up phone
call.
And it's like, oh, have a greatday.
Well, when answering that phonecall, they said, Oh, obviously,
can we talk to Dora?
And I'm like, Yes.

(02:14):
They're like, Oh, we have thedoctor on the line, we would
like to talk to you.
And they're like, Oh, it soundslike you're driving.
I'm like, Yeah, I am.
They're like, Oh, okay, we cangive you a call back, and I'm
like, let me just pull over.
And so I did.
And that's where my daughterand I, we were just sitting

(02:35):
there, and that's when theystarted really going through the
results, and that they did findcancer.
And that's where they said,pretty much, your biopsy came
back, it's cancer.
My daughter held my hand, and Ijust remember like the stream

(02:57):
of tears coming down my face, mycheeks, and just being in like
shock and awe.
In that moment I froze, my bodywent numb, my corazon dropped
to my stomach, but my daughterwas right there, and she looked
at me, of course, not fullyunderstanding, also in her shock

(03:21):
and in process, but I couldfeel her energy shift because
she knew something wasn't okay.
I had to hold it together forher, and then I couldn't break
down the way I wanted to.
But I obviously was stillcrying, and I was in shock.
But she was very comfortingbecause she said, Mom,

(03:43):
everything's gonna be okay,we're gonna be fine.
They did share with me that itwas growing at a rapid rate, and
that urgency hit me reallyhard.
Like time was suddenly againstme.
And yet, I didn't tell myhusband right away, I held it
inside.
So this happened that Fridaybefore Labor Day, and so Labor

(04:03):
Day weekend was coming up, and Imade the choice, I mean, maybe
selfishly, to enjoy it.
To let myself have a few dayswith my family that were normal.
And that weekend I was also ina wedding for one of my best
friends.
So I was smiling, dancing,celebrating, and every time that
someone would ask me, How areyou?

(04:25):
Everything good?
I would just say, Yeah, see,Tostabi, everything's fine.
But inside I felt so guilty oflying, of carrying this heavy
secret in my chest while tryingto act like everything was okay.
And especially with my sistersand my mom and my husband, and

(04:45):
my daughter knew.
But it was a secret between herand I.
That's when I started realizingall the different things that
are prioritized in my life, suchas joy, peace, having fun, and
when my husband would get upsetover something that weekend,
over something petty, that'swhere I would just not pay

(05:07):
attention.
Or try to disregard it.
And I started setting myboundaries where I would tell
him, I'm, you know, this kind oflike this stuff that's very
minor.
I don't think it's important.
He just didn't get it at thatmoment.
But that was soon to allchange.
Eventually I told my husband,and that was one of the hardest

(05:31):
conversations of my life.
My husband, let's just say he'smy pessimist, and he's been
always the worst-case scenariokind of guy.
So he took the news reallyhard, and he broke down, and
never did I see him sovulnerable.
And that's where having thosehonest conversations of I can't

(05:55):
be positive for both of usanymore, that he needs to work
through his own stuff at times,and I'm gonna be here as his
supportive wife, but now I needto focus on me, I need to focus
on my healing.
And something started to shiftthat day on Labor Day when I
told him.
It was funny because we went tothe store to buy our son some

(06:20):
medicine from Walgreens, andwhen we came back, we were
sitting in the garage, and I hadbought a chocolate bar, and I
told him, Do you want a piece ofchocolate?
And he's not a chocolate lover,but I told him, He's like,
sure.
And I'm like, Yeah, you'regonna need it.
And that's when I broke downthe news to him in the car.
And he had so many differentemotions, and I was afraid

(06:44):
because of his reaction, becausesometimes he struggles to
emotionally regulate, whichmeans that he just spirals out
of control, like gets mad andall these things.
And let's just say, after a lotof crying and a lot of like
listening to each other, itreally changed his perspective,
my perspective of life, and howI want to live going forward.

(07:07):
From there, it's been awhirlwind.
Test after test, MRIs, and somany lab works, doctors talking
about chemo, surgery, timelines.
I can barely process oneappointment after the next one

(07:28):
is scheduled.
And emotionally, oof.
It's been about a month thatI've been able to process, but
it's heavy.
Some mornings I wake up withfear in my chest, other days I
wake up determined, like readyto go for it.
Let's get going.
And so I've been really leaninginto what I do, my practices,

(07:55):
and my spiritual tools to helpme cope.
So I do my limpias, that bewith the huevo, if I feel really
heavy, burning like sage,palosanto, definitely praying to
my ancestors.
I've been journaling witheverything that comes up.

(08:16):
And sometimes I just write thesame question over and over.
What does this mean to me?
What is God divine trying tosay to me?
And I'm sure that God isputting this on me, and I've

(08:37):
already watched miracles happen.
Like God is working in me,through me, and all around me.
And the biggest testimony is myhusband, because he's
definitely making a huge effort,something that I have been
praying for for years.
We've been together for 23, andhe's finally getting with the
program.
Grateful on life, appreciationfor everything we have, the

(09:00):
family we we do cherish, andspending quality time with each
other.
And I did kind of go throughinitially, like, holy moly, why
me?
Why now?
But then again, I feel like I'min the best shape of my life.
I lost all this weight thisyear since January.
I have been working out likeconsistently.

(09:24):
I've had other coupleprocedures done, and I've been
getting to the root of why Ifeel the way I feel, because I
would at times feel lethargic ortired.
And that's when I remindmyself, my body is not my enemy,
it's my messenger.
And so the hardest part isfeeling like I'm wearing a mask.

(09:45):
To the outside world, I keep ittogether, but behind closed
doors, I let myself fall apart.
And that's where I lean into myfamily, my friends, my kids, my
mom, my sisters.
And the most beautiful part isthe way my community has shown
up.
Even when they don't know thefull story, I feel the love, the

(10:06):
prayers, the energy holding me.
And it's hard being on thisside of the table sharing the
news.
Because I feel like I'm alwaysthe positive one.
I'm always the one likeuplifting everybody, and kind of
like that's my job.
But on this side of the house,it's like now I have to accept

(10:28):
and learn to receive.
This diagnosis has definitelycracked me open in ways I didn't
expect.
It's forcing me to slow down,to honor my body in a new way.
And I can't ignore the signsanymore.
I can't just push through.
And my inner child has comeforward a lot this month.

(10:53):
That little five-year-old whoalways had to be the strong one,
who became a caretaker tooyoung, who learned to hide her
pain.
She's saying, Mijita no masthey be cared for now.
So I've felt I've also felt mydad's presence.

(11:15):
He passed away in 2019, but Ifeel him close, like watching
over me.
Especially in those moments,quiet moments, where I light a
candle and pray.
My ancestors remind me we'resurvived.
Worse.
You carry resilience in yourblood.
So this isn't just a physicalbattle, it's ancestral healing.

(11:38):
In nuestra cultura, we don'talways talk about sickness.
We keep it quiet, whisper it.
But I believe silence is whatkeeps us sick.
Sharing it, speaking it is whatbrings light and healing.
And I've been doing a littlemore research on the emotional
part, that spiritual side ofthings, as to what this lump in

(12:00):
my breast means.
And a lot of it is attributedto that lineage of suppressing
emotions, of not being able togrieve.
And that goes with my mom, mygrandma, and certain women in my
life that they're super strong,super resilient, but they're

(12:20):
unable to cry or demonstratethose emotions.
And that in part is what I'mworking through is healing that
ancestral line.
And my mom has been sosupportive, is my sisters, and
she still struggles to show herlike vulnerable side.
And so that's something my momdefinitely is working on.

(12:43):
And I am also working on,again, receiving that love and
support because I'm not used tobeing the one being cared for.
I'm used to being thecaregiver, like the one that's
like the la mama, the one thego-to for everybody.
So that is a new phase for me.
But I believe this is allhappening in divine timing and
it is unfolding as it should be.

(13:04):
This past month has taught meso much.
First of all, it wasboundaries.
Boundaries are everything.
My time, my energy, my peace.
They are so sacred right nowthat I've been really firm on

(13:24):
them.
I've been honoring them formyself, for my family, for my
friends, because right now Ihave like about a month before I
go through like the actualtreatment plan.
And there's a lot of thingsthat I'm analyzing.
Like, what is it that I want todo with my life?
The second one is my body is myally, not my enemy.

(13:46):
Yes, right now we're goingthrough it.
It's sick, considered sick, butit's also speaking to me,
asking me to listen in ways Inever have before.
And going through just dialoguewith it, tuning into it, I've
been picking up on many, manysigns that I overlooked.
Number three is it's okay toask for help.

(14:08):
For so long, I've been thestrong one, the caretaker, la
que aguanta.
But now I'm learning toreceive.
And it's amazing to see all theseeds that I planted over the
years because now I'm able tolike pick up the fruits of that
labor.
And I just have to ride thatwave.

(14:29):
Like I was having aconversation with someone, and
that's where I have todefinitely revisit the movie
Moana.
I have to see it with a newlight because it's such a
beautiful movie, if you haven'tseen it.
But it's like riding that, youknow, going past the reef, going
past what is known, andchanging the trajectory for my

(14:51):
ancestors.
And that is something thatcalls to me so much.
So, Hermosa, if you'relistening to this, please take
care of yourself.
Don't wait.
Schedule that checkup.
Listen to your body, don'tignore the whispers before they

(15:12):
turn into shouts.
As a first gen mujer or thosethat are were moms and we're
women, and we put everybodyfirst, we're conditioned to
carry it all.
To put others before ourselves.
But our healing matters too,especially our physical healing.

(15:33):
This wasn't easy to share.
I know it was necessary.

(15:53):
I want you to know if you'rewalking through your own storm,
you're not alone.
Your body is wise, yourancestors are with you, and
healing, even if it looksdifferent than what you
expected, healing is alwayspossible.
I'll be bringing you along onthis journey, the lessons, the

(16:15):
tears, the victories.
And it's gonna look a littledifferent than what I planned in
the next following months, butthis month I have a lot of
goodies dropping here and there,and I'll be opening up my books
for October, and I hope toconnect with you before I take

(16:36):
time for my own healing.
So, until next time, embraceyour races, reclaim your
essencia.
Con mucho carino, I'll talk toyou soon.
Bye.