Meet Juanita

The Rose was the lifeline for Juanita when she was diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma at the age of 44. She vividly remembers attempting to add up in her mind what the costs would be after receiving her first mammogram, fine needle aspiration, and biopsy. She was a single mother without insurance, and she knew there was no way she could pay for everything. She knew cancer treatment comes with a high price tag.

Her worry turned into gratitude the moment Lead Technologist, Jeanie Pompey told her: “The Rose will take care of everything. You just concentrate on getting well.” Those words are forever etched into Juanita’s mind and have become what she calls a “bright spot in her life.”

Even through financial hardships, Juanita confesses that the most difficult part of her journey was having to break the news of her diagnosis to daughter Tracy, who had just left for college. Once hearing of her mother’s breast cancer, Tracy’s first thought was to come home and take care of her mother. Juanita’s response was unflinching: “You will do no such thing,” Juanita told her daughter, “you’re going to stay there; you’re going to graduate, and when you graduate, I’m going to be there.”

In 2007, as the graduates of Northwood University began to enter the giant stadium, one voice stood out amongst them all. It was the tenacious voice of a woman who had fought the odds and kept her promise. Juanita was there, cheering the loudest, as Tracy walked across the stage and received her degree in Entertainment Sports Promotion Management from Northwood University in Cedar Hill, Texas. No mother was prouder.

After receiving so much help from The Rose, Juanita is resolved to make her mission one of helping others, especially someone newly diagnosed, she explained, with a smile: “I now know that I am strong, I know that my voice is powerful, and my journey was not in vain!”