After work on September 27, 2015, Zoila was experiencing intense abdominal discomfort. Her husband rushed her to the emergency room where they found and soon diagnosed Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. She has been married for 15 years and is 43 years old. She is also the mother to 3 beautiful children, 20, 12 , & 7. Her eldest son is a US Marine serving in North Carolina.

Zoila began chemotherapy treatments after learning the news and underwent a full hysterectomy as well as abdominal wall scraping due to the cancer spreading. A PET scan done after the surgery revealed the quick regrowth of tumors on the abdominal wall. After multiple rounds of chemotherapy without much success, the tumors have continued to multiply and grow. She is currently undergoing a biopsy to study the specific cancer type she has so more effective chemotherapy can be administered since all others failed. She was just informed that she is no longer a candidate for surgery to remove the cancerous tumors and chemotherapy is her best fighting chance. With the numerous appointments and medical bills, the pressure on Zoila's family is quickly mounting.

She is the hardest working, most reliable coworker and friend I know. She doesn’t complain or show her struggle even though we know of the sizable burden that has been placed on her shoulders. She has truly shown immense strength and has been a wonderful example to her children and peers. My coworkers and I have set up this page for her and her family to help with the strain of medical bills and lost income. Between the multitude of doctor appointments and being extremely sick after chemotherapy treatments, she has missed a lot of work. She says that working "helps occupy her mind". She does get tired easily but she is a fighter. We couldn't imagine being in her shoes and we only want to help lighten the load as much as possible. 

We thank you for listening to Zoila's story and any support is greatly appreciated during this most difficult time. We hope to reduce stress and allow Zoila to focus on her fight and her family. Please be sure to keep Zoila and her family in your prayers. We thank you in advance for your support and please feel free to share her story.