"I've Done Enough Dying. It's Time to Live." -Alicia's Story
- CRLFoundation
- Jun 9
- 2 min read
When you get a cancer diagnosis, the world completely stops. But the rest of reality doesn't. That’s the exact wall Alicia hit at 37 years old when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Suddenly, she wasn't just dealing with the terrifying medical reality, she was a mom trying to look her seven and six year old kids in the eye while panicking about how to keep the lights on. Because that's the part people don't talk about enough, a cancer diagnosis doesn't pause your bills. It just hands you a stack of new ones for specialty medications and co-pays.
Alicia went through the ringer with conventional treatments and surgeries, but they didn't work. The process was exhausting and heartbreaking. At one point, she spent 25 straight days in a hospital bed, missing her daughter's soccer games and praying for a day where she'd just feel good enough to play with her kids again. When the standard route failed, Alicia found a lifeline through alternative treatments with Dr. Nezami, made possible by financial funding from the Cancer Research and Life Foundation. Having that financial weight lifted meant she could actually focus on what mattered which was. surviving for her and her children.
And she did more than just survive. Today, Alicia is working full-time, coaching both of her daughters' sports teams, serving as a union delegate for her coworkers, and staying deeply active in her church. When people tell her she’s doing too much, she gives them the best response imaginable:
"I’ve done enough dying, so it's time to live."
Alicia was given a second chance, and she isn't wasting a single second of it.
Alicia's journey is a powerful reminder of why access to care matters. If you want to see how community support keeps families together, or if you're able to help give someone else their second chance.
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