PHOENIX (WOMENSENEWS)--Flor regrets that she didn't come sooner to Maricopa Medical Center Oncology Clinic.
"When I found out, I was desperate because I thought I was going to die," said Flor, 46, an undocumented women who asked that her name not to be revealed. "I didn't want to look for help because of my immigration status."
Instead she did what neighbors told her to do for breast cancer: drink tea from a yerberia--an alternative medicine store--and use homemade ointments to reduce the swelling.
When she arrived at the clinic two years ago, she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, a form of advanced cancer that begins in the breast and spreads to other organs. This type of cancer cannot be cured, but it can be treated. For now Flor's condition is stable, but she will never be in remission, where her symptoms disappear.
