Having developed mental strength and seeing
life with a different lens, Donis describes life as
beautiful and is forever grateful not only to her
family, but for life as well. While her mom lost her
job, and her father split his time between work,
family and the hospital, Donis also remains
thankful to her grandmother, who was also her
caregiver.
“I make sure to let people around me know
how grateful I am for them and the things that they
do in my life,” shares Donis. “You never know when
your last day is and as cliché as that may sound, it
is so true. That is how I see the world. You do what
you can, when you can and don’t be sad. Don’t live
sad. Try your best to be positive.”
With a mission to save lives, Be The Match
also supports 36-year-old Susie Rabaca, a
mother of five ages 14, 13, 4 and 6-month-old
twins, who is now waiting for her second
transplant with hopes of eliminating her cancer.
Rabaca was diagnosed with leukemia in
September 2018, and learned she would need a
blood stem cell transplant.
Rabaca found a matched donor and received
a transplant in January 2019; however, at
her 100-day post-transplant follow up it was
discovered her cancer had returned.
Her search for a donor in the Fall of 2018
(when she was pregnant with twins) went viral
and more than 85,000 people across the U.S.
joined the Be The Match Registry on her behalf.
According to Rabaca, her goal is to get 100k
people to join the registry – she is hoping more
people will continue to join as a result of her battle.
Today, Rabaca is battling against her
life-threatening cancer but remains hopeful and
continues to share her story and encourage more
people to join the Be The Match Registry.
“The goal is to get me back to remission and
then after that, I would go straight to transplant if we
have a donor,” shares Rabaca. “That is why we
need people to register. I still need to find a donor
and a match for a second time, so it is very
important for people to do it.”
According to Sevilla, as a Hispanic patient,
Rabaca’s odds of finding a match were less than 50
percent, a disparity that she is determined to
change and continues to do so as she courageously
shares her battle publicly and encourages more
Latinos to join the registry.
“Susie’s story is miraculous,” Sevilla shares.
“She delivered two healthy twins and went on to
have a blood stem cell transplant. Unfortunately,
her cancer has returned and she will need another
transplant so she can continue to care for her five
children. Susie is a true hero whose battle with
leukemia has inspired more than 85,000 people to
join the Be The Match Registry on her behalf.”
Transplant outcomes and experiences are
unique to individuals, all depending on disease,
disease stage, the patient’s age, health, timing
of treatment, degree of match, and many
other factors. According to Sevilla, sometimes a
transplant will not be successful and doctors
determine a second transplant to be the best
course of action. In Donis’ case, her second donor’s
cells successfully grafted with her own and she
found her cure. Rabaca is now awaiting a second
transplant with hopes of successfully eliminating
her cancer. “We cannot predict how she will
respond to this next treatment,” says Sevilla. “For
most patients, a blood stem cell transplant is their
only hope of a cure. But we are hopeful and
inspired by Susie’s fighting spirit. Her story has
touched so many people.”
Rabaca remains hopeful and positive despite
everything. “God and my kids are what gets me
through every day because they need me,” she
shares. “I can’t be negative even though I want to
sometimes. It’s discouraging to go through this, but
I have to stay strong for my babies.”
Rabaca’s advice for anyone going through a
similar situation is to stay strong, have faith and
hope.
LATINAStyle Vol . 25, No. 3, 2019 www. lat inastyle.com 23
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