How One Woman Survived Breast Cancer One Year Postpartum During the Pandemic
Aeliya Jaffar, a former pharmacist diagnosed with breast cancer postpartum during the COVID-19 pandemic and dealing with the loss of her grandmother, shares her poignant journey, balancing strength, heroism, and humor throughout her experiences.
Diagnosed at 34: Amber Gonzalez’s Triple Negative Breast Cancer Journey
Amber Gonzalez shares how a pea sized lump led to a triple negative breast cancer diagnosis, aggressive chemo, surgery, and hard decisions about what to tell her children. From cold caps and hats to long days at Texas Oncology with her mother at her side, Amber shows what early action, self exams, and strong support can mean for young women facing breast cancer.
Why Being Your Own Advocate Could Save Your Life
LaTreace Price-Gistard didn’t know about The Rose when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. She’s convinced things would have ended up quite differently if she had.
During this episode, we talk about her breast cancer journey, the effects of her battle as it relates to her children, and how she ended up serving as a volunteer for The Rose.
From Survivor to Board Chair: Maria Boyce’s Fight for Breast Health Equity
Former 36-year trial attorney, breast cancer survivor, and a passionate advocate fighting for healthcare equity. Maria Boyce steps into her new role as Board Chair of The Rose, channeling her own life-saving early diagnosis into a mission to ensure quality breast healthcare is a right for all women, not a privilege. From navigating structural barriers across 45 Texas counties and supporting women through patient advocacy to making a legacy gift for future generations, Maria discusses how early detection, dedicated advocacy, and community support save lives. If this conversation has inspired you to join the fight against breast cancer, share this episode with family and friends and consider making a donation at therose.org so another woman gets the care she needs.
Faith, Chemo, and T-Shirts: A Survivor Who Refuses to Whisper
Safiya felt a lump at 36, had no insurance, and almost didn’t know where to turn. Thankfully, a referral brought her to The Rose, where our patient navigation team helped her qualify for breast cancer treatment and got her first appointment at MD Anderson scheduled in just 15 days. Through all of it, our navigators walked alongside her, and her faith, anchored by a prayer her father read her the day she was diagnosed, carried her the rest of the way.
Breaking Cultural Taboos: A Breast Cancer Survivor’s Story in the South Asian Community
How do you talk about breast cancer when it’s something your community rarely discusses, sometimes because of culture, sometimes because of faith, and sometimes just because it’s hard?
Attorney, CPA, Philanthropist, and Breast Cancer Survivor: Marilyn Sims
Marilyn is an attorney, CPA, and president of the Bill and Helen Crowder Foundation, the private foundation whose generosity helped build The Rose’s podcast studio. She has been a Rose patient since the late 1970s, when she came in for her very first mammogram after moving to Houston. Decades later, she found herself in a very different role, as a Stage III HER2 positive breast cancer patient. Her advice is simple and direct: check yourself between mammograms, get second opinions, take care of yourself first, and know that The Rose and organizations like it exist so that every woman, insured or not, has a path to care.
Navigating Side Effects, Fear of Recurrence, and Life After Treatment
A casual night watching sports, a quick self-exam, and a lump that did not belong there. Faced with no insurance and four months of not knowing what to do, Felicia Kent walked into a neighborhood clinic, received a referral to The Rose, and heard the three words that changed everything: you have cancer. In this episode, she talks about choosing a treatment center, using research and strict adherence to medication to blunt chemo side effects, and learning to live with radiation fatigue, lymphedema, neuropathy, and a body that will never be the same. She also shares how faith, a determined daughter, an emotional support dog, and a calling to serve other survivors led her to start a nonprofit, finish her psychology degree, and focus on practical support and early mammograms in the African American community.
Blindness, Breast Cancer, and Bold Choices: One Woman’s Unyielding Spirit
Jennifer Parrish, Manager of Business Services at the Lighthouse of Houston, joins Dorothy to share her story. Parrish talks about managing work at the Lighthouse of Houston, overcoming transportation issues for treatments, and addressing misconceptions around breast cancer.
Access to Treatment Takes More Than a Pathology Report
Being uninsured, speaking a different language, or not understanding a 40-page form should never decide who lives or dies. In this episode, patient navigators Laura Tovar and Elizabeth Esparza walk us through what really happens after an uninsured woman hears “you have breast cancer” at The Rose. They explain how they review applications before diagnosis, sit in the room with the radiologist, and answer the first question they always hear: “How am I going to pay for this?” They also talk about the maze behind programs like Medicaid for Breast and Cervical Cancer and Harris Health, what it takes to keep coverage from lapsing in the middle of chemo, and the extreme steps some families take, from moving counties to divorcing, just to qualify. Along the way, Laura and Elizabeth share what it costs them emotionally to carry these stories, why they sometimes cry with husbands and children, and how quilts, gas cards, summer camps, and rent assistance become part of making sure no woman has to face breast cancer or the paperwork alone.