CLEARWATER, Fla. — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A breast cancer diagnosis led a Tampa Bay area woman to change her career to nursing.
Darleen Alvarez’s day is all about caring for her patients. But at one point, she was in their shoes.
In 2012, Alvarez noticed a lump and got it checked out immediately.
“I had not gotten a mammogram in my whole life. I was 42 I believe,” said Alvarez.
Ultimately, she found out she had breast cancer.
“I think within a month and a half, I had my port inserted and had my first round of chemotherapy, a total of six altogether,” said Alvarez. “After that was done, I had a mastectomy to have my breast removed, and then after that, I had 36 rounds of radiation.”
Alvarez said her whole life, she’d been in retail management, but through her treatments for breast cancer, she decided she wanted to become a nurse.
“If they lose their hair, is somebody there to talk to them, give them support about that?” said Alvarez. “Those are the kind of questions that I wondered if maybe I could answer if I were a nurse.”
Now, she’s nine years cancer free and a nurse at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, working on the oncology floor.
She even carries around a photo of herself when she was going through treatment on her work badge.
“I carry this with me so that patients going through cancer can see that I understand where they’re coming from,” said Alvarez.
If you notice something off, Alvarez wants people to know mammograms aren’t scary or painful.
“If you’re hesitant because you feel that it’s going to be uncomfortable, it’s not. It’s just for a minute, and it’s so helpful to find out if there is a problem or if there isn’t because it’s important that you take control of your healthcare, and if there is something wrong, get it taken care of,” said Alvarez.
