Tayde Cruz Dodds is a fighter. The 36-year-old Mexican mom-to-be was first diagnosed with cancer at the age of 7. "I just knew I had to get better," she says. Dodds underwent treatment at St. Jude and would soon be cancer-free after being diagnosed with high-risk leukemia. The three-time cancer survivor is now married and expecting her first child. We chatted with her about her inspiring story.
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Dodds, who is due in October with her first baby, didn't think she could ever have children. "After many fertility treatments I was told that the amount of chemotherapy I had received as a child had probably affected my fertility and that my chances were minimal." She was advised to adopt or complete IVF with a donor's egg. Her baby girl was conceived without treatments. "She's my little miracle," she said.
While completing the grueling chemotherapy treatments, Dodds revealed that she missed home, located in Aguascalientes, Mexico, more than anything. "I wanted to go back to Mexico and be at school with my friends and family, my language, my food, my city and my natural environment. I missed that a lot," she said.
Now residing in Tennessee, Dodds is cancer-free and works as a patient liasion at St. Jude. "We never thought it would happen to us! But knowing there is a place of hope like St. Jude is very uplifting. For every child treated here, many more are saved around the world," she explains.
Dodds is grateful for life and lives by a motto we should all embrace. "Enjoy every minute as it comes. Everything happens for a reason," she said.
Images via Tayde Cruz Dodds/Facebook
