LYNCHBURG, Va. – Louise Dudley and her daughter Jenn Santos have a special bond. After chemotherapy, surgeries, radiation, and IV treatment, Santos just finished up her treatment for breast cancer.
“Definitely a weight lifted off my shoulders. Just knowing now I can move forward, not have treatments every 3 weeks. She’s my inspiration,” Santos said.
Dudley was by her side during her road to recovery – one that she traveled herself 16 years ago.
“It means the world to me, to know I have her for advice and just to have a shoulder to lean on at times and she knows the side effects of everything” Santos added.
Santos found her lump through self-examination. Dudley’s showed up on a mammogram.
Both Santos and Dudley have the same message for other women: to be proactive.
“Be your own advocate, do self-examination, go for your annual mammograms, and get treated,” Dudley explained.
That’s why Saturday’s annual “I Pink I Can” event at River Ridge Mall in Lynchburg is near and dear to their hearts.
The event is help to raise awareness for breast cancer and remember those who have succumbed to it.
“I think breast cancer is a sisterhood, and I think women need the support of their medical team but most importantly other women,” said Dudley.
It’s also a day to celebrate the breast cancer survivors, which Dudley and Santos now get to do together.
The event is slated to be held on Saturday (Oct. 1) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and more details can be found here.