How breast cancer survivors, families inspire others fighting the disease
(InvestigateTV) — It took cake decorator Jodi Hollandsworth time to get a feel for her craft.
Starting small with things at home for kids’ birthdays. Eventually, it led her to open The Baker’s Bar in Jackson, Missouri.
“It feels a little unreal to know that, you know, I’m here now when I had no intentions of ever doing that.”
Jodi says she’s here now because a few years earlier, when she developed strange symptoms, her instincts told her something was wrong.
“They, of course, chalked it up to you’re a mother of four kids. You probably aren’t eating right, you know, And I’m just like, no. I knew like the people around me who had kids, they weren’t tired like I was. And I just couldn’t get that through their head.”
Jodi says she’s glad she trusted her gut.
After five years of unexplained fatigue and weight gain, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer.
Jodi says doctors missed it because the cancer was too deep in the tissue to be detected.
As she battled the disease, her side hustle of decorating cakes turned into an inspiring mission to help others on a similar path.
Other Survivors on Similar Journeys to Help
Dawn Compton started packing blessing boxes to help those facing their own diagnosis.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, she found purpose in making pillows.
She mails the pillows directly to people fighting breast cancer.
“What it does is, it wraps around you like this when you come home.”
Along with other items she found useful during and after her own treatment, Dawn has helped pack over 12,000 boxes.
What began as a grassroots effort has grown into a small circle of survivors, all making a big difference.
In Arizona, Lena Anderson offers survivors answers with very personal art tattoos.
Her mother had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. Now, most of her clients consist of similar women looking for areola and nipple restoration.
Clients come from all over.
“To see them walk out of here just with that glow feels unlike anything else. I never realized that I was going to be having such a major impact on someone’s life.”
Paying it Forward
Back at Jodi Hollandsworth’s Bakery, she’s whipped up something even sweeter.
Paying it forward to kids fighting critical illness with a nonprofit called Icing Smiles.
Her organization bakes and delivers custom cakes to families.
“You know, taking care of a cost, but a burden and a stress factor sometimes for people. It’s just a really neat experience for that to happen for the family,” said Danny Bowman, the father of a child battling a critical illness.
And what advice do survivors have for those fighting and their families?
“There are stages,” said Janine who survived a breast cancer diagnosis ten years ago. “First you are in fight mode and then you are surviving and then you get to go to thriving. And that way you can just kind of do what makes you feel good.’
Jodi Hollandsworth is proud of the example she has set for her family through her fight.
“I see how strong I am and what I’ve overcome, and it’s made my kids who they are today. They go above and beyond for everyone’s still.
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