![\"tara\"](\"http:\/\/shadesofpinkfoundationca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Tara-e1477761177958.jpg\")
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In May of this year, Tara published an important update on her Facebook page. It was the announcement that she was officially cancer-free for two years, and she had passed something her doctors called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the survivor anniversary,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the two-year mark after her mastectomy.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Most people didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d had cancer,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Tara admitted. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I hardly told anyone.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Back in January of 2015, when we shared Tara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story as our first grant recipient, she was still in the midst of chemotherapy. Tara was diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer in April of 2014. Eventually, she would undergo a left breast mastectomy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, as well as two reconstruction surgeries.<\/p>\n
A Slow Healing<\/strong><\/p>\n By January of 2016, Tara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hair was starting to grow back, and the healing process from chemotherapy had begun. However, the journey back to health hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been smooth sailing. Tara explains that her body is still releasing stored toxins from the chemo and radiation drugs and that the cleansing process will take time. A Sense of Support<\/strong><\/p>\n When we asked Tara what it meant to receive an SOPFCA grant when she was in the middle of treatment, she surprised us with her answer. Though she had lost most of her income during the long treatment process as a result of being too exhausted to keep up with her business, it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the money that she appreciated the most. It was the support of the community that the grant represented.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153When I first got diagnosed, I realized that I was going to have to face cancer all alone,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Tara admits. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how I was going to do it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d When she found out about the SOPFCA grant, Tara was shocked that an organization existed that was willing to help women like her.<\/p>\n Tara remembers feeling very alone and sad during the beginning of her treatment, but gradually she realized that she never doubted that she had the inner strength to overcome cancer. Her advice for any woman facing breast cancer treatment is to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153heal your emotional energy too!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The mind and the body are connected, and you cannot heal the body without also healing the emotional energy.<\/p>\n Moving Forward To SOPFCA and all the donors who made her grant possible, she says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153God Bless you!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n We are so happy for Tara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s continued recovery and wish her luck as she closes the cancer chapter of her life and starts a new chapter of health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our First Grant Recipient — Tara–An Update In May of this year, Tara published an important update on her Facebook page. It was the announcement that she was officially cancer-free […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-case-study"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nDespite the fact that her body is still bouncing back, Tara is feeling much better. She tells us that she has more energy and feels more focused. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can actually remember what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m reading,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she announced, explaining that during chemotherapy her brain was so affected that she struggled to read and write.<\/p>\n
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\nAs Tara begins to look toward the future, she is eager to bring on more clients and use her newfound energy to expand her business. Every day she feels a little stronger and has written a personal account of her integrated approach to healing cancer, which incorporates traditional and alternative medical practices.<\/p>\n