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Starting the New Year Cancer Free

Veteran rings Cancer Bell
Navy Veteran Luz Cervantes rings the Cancer Center bell on Jan. 5, 2023 at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.

In 2018, Navy Veteran Luz Cervantes had her first mammogram and it came back normal. Several years went by and in 2021, she felt she needed to go back to the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center for another one.

“Cancer was the last thing on my mind because there was no family history and I felt I was young,” she said.

Unfortunately, her mammogram came back abnormal. The next day, a Thursday, she came back in for a biopsy and on Monday, she got the call that she had Metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.

“They called me to tell me, yes, it’s cancer and it was actually four tumors,” said Cervantes, who was only 43 years old. “And the crazy thing is that I never felt any of them.”

She said the small amount of time between the first mammogram and her diagnosis a few days later were a blessing.

“They were fast,” she said. “I've had friends who have had abnormal mammograms in private health care, and they had to wait a week or two week to do the biopsy and then wait to get the results. Because it was so quick, I didn’t have a lot of time to think and worry. I didn’t have much of the mental stress and I’m thankful for that.”

Cervantes started chemo/infusion treatment in September 2021 and also had a double mastectomy in April 2022. A year after starting her first treatment, she had her last infusion in September 2022.

She said she is beyond grateful to the VA cancer team for the care she received during one of the tougher periods of her life.

“I love the VA Cancer Center,” she said. “They saved my life. I wouldn’t have traded that treatment for anywhere. They’ve been so good to me. ”

Cervantes also wanted to publicly thank Lizet McLat, RN, who administered and monitored a large portion of her treatment.

“She was my nurse during pretty much every infusion,” said Cervantes. “Just the smile, the kindness, the warmth - she’s just incredible. She explained everything to me and was always very careful.”

McLat has worked as an oncology nurse for most of her career, both at VA and in the private sector, and said cancer care is about far more than medicine.

“When you meet the patients, they’re going through so much,” she said. “You have to engage with them for their care first, but also assess their other needs. You understand that they have fear and that they need emotional support. They need somebody with compassion and need to know we’ll take care of them. We’ll go through this together.”

Ringing the Bell

In September 2022, Cervantes could have rang the bell in the Cancer Center but she chose to wait – just to make sure the cancer was really gone.

“The bell ringing signifies so much for different people,” she said. “I always assumed that it meant being cancer free and that’s not what it means. It means you’re just done with your treatment.”

Just after the New Year, she decided she was ready to declare victory.

“To start the New Year and be cancer free by ringing the bell, I think the timing was perfect,” she said. “The start of the New Year is symbolic because it gives you a chance to start fresh. For me, it was a little more meaningful.”

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