Like so many people I know, I have more love than I could ever put in to words for Rita Cruz De Duran. 

What most of you all aren't aware of is her current battle with Cancer.

In June of 2021, she went in for what was supposed to be a routine check up. She had her yearly mammogram. She did what she has done so for so many years now, expecting everything to be normal as always. The Doctors office called and said that they were concerned. They asked her to come in for more labs as well as a biopsy.

A few days later her family Doctor called her and said the words that no one ever expects or wants to hear.

"You have cancer.."

She was diagnosed with Invasive Mammary Carcinoma. This is an aggressive cancer. The Doctors have been very upfront with what she would have to do moving forward.

On July 7th, Senora had a partial mastectomy and a lymph node test to see if any of the cells had spread. The surgeon was able to remove two different spots and determine exactly where her cancer was forming. They were able to determine what the receptors were and finalize a plan for treatment moving forward. Her receptors were found to be Estrogen receptors. By being able to determine this they were able to make her treatment specific.

As a piece of great news, the results for her lymph nodes did not show any cells present. That is a HUGE victory, but the battle is far from over.

At the end of September when she has recovered from Surgery, she will begin Radiation. It will be an extremely high dose where she will be required to go 5 days a week for 3 to 4 weeks. The side effect that they list are unimaginable.

Once this is finished, in October, she will have her bone density tested and be able to start her Endocrine-Estrogen therapy. This treatment will last for five years....

This is the part that breaks my heart. This is the part where we come in.

As some of you now know Senora has retired from Currey Ingram Academy. After 19 years, she has had to take a step back to care for herself.

For so many years she dedicated herself to helping every student who came through the doors. Whether she had you in her class or not, she was in your corner. She fought, she believed, and more than anything she loved every single student.

The thought that through all of this she will have to be concerned with the financial strain, well there are no words.

For me personally, she was the one light I had in the darkest time of my life. I was not a good student. I did not make good connections with adults. I had very little belief in myself. But Senora... She never had anything but kind words and saw something in me I didn't even see in myself. She was the only reason that I was able to get through school and become who I am.

She has been at all the major events in my life. She watched me get married. She was there when I had my first baby shower. After leaving Currey Ingram 17 years ago, I could still stop by and walk right in to her classroom to be met with that Senora smile and a million dollar hug.

That's why with the help of a few other students I am creating this Go-Fund Me. Because I know that I am not alone in feeling this way.

She has touched so many lives. It is beyond evident in the posts regarding her Retirement. She has been a favorite of so many students. The last time I was able to visit her classroom before Covid, you could just see how proud she was of every single one.

Her boards would be filled with loving messages of students who had stopped by. Her walls with photos, and more than anything her love to just sit and talk. To learn how you were, what you had been doing, and if you knew what every other classmate was doing. She wanted to know as much as she could.

This is our chance.

This is our chance to say Thank You.

This is our chance to say I love you.

This is our chance to stand beside and support someone who supported so many of us.

If you can please help us in trying to make Senora's battle a little bit easier. With five years of treatment I have started a goal of $5,000 a year to help her.

I'll end this post with something she wrote me after her surgery.

"It has been a challenging time for me. Thank God that Marco, my husband is always with me and supports me in the most difficult moments. Marco and I believe that love and respect keep couples together (46 years married.) We don't forget the happiness. We love through thick and thin, no matter how big the problem is."

I can't help but to think this is our time to show her our love, through thick and thin. We love you Senora.