Mother Of 3 Battles Cancer After Fiance's Death
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- It was a family portrait that Jessica Strohauer-McCabe dreamed of, then suddenly her entire world changed.
"I have stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma," said Strohauer-McCabe.
Cancer was just the beginning of the heartbreak she would face in the next few months.
"I did 12 rounds of chemo, 6 of which while I was pregnant with my twins, then we stopped for two months so I could deliver the twins and possibly breast feed," said Strohauer-McCabe.
After her twins were born healthy, Jessica continued treatment and it appeared that it was working. But cancer is cruel. It came back twice and spread to her spine.
"We think the largest reason is because that two months that I took off, it attacked the most then but in the end, I got two healthy babies out of it, so I guess it was worth taking the two months off a treatment," said Strohauer-McCabe.
While battling for her life, she faced another heartache, her soulmate, her fiancé died suddenly.
"I keep trying to stay positive. That's what everybody wants me to do. Every time I get to that point and I think it's going to be a positive outcome, it's just gone drastically wrong and then last month, losing my fiancé in the middle of it all, it's just like everything crashing around me," said Strohauer-McCabe.
A big source of strength for her comes from her co-workers at Field of Flowers and The Triple B Bar and Grill. They've been raising money to help her and collecting items for the kids. They hope to raise $25,000 by the time Strohauer-McCabe goes in for a bone marrow transplant next month.
They've come up with a hashtag that sums up their feelings.
"Hashtag team jess, no one fight alone means that we're on her team and she's not alone when she's fighting. We're fighting along with her every day," said co-worker Lynn Yates.
For Strohauer-McCabe, that support and friendship means the world.
"I don't want to be like someone that everyone pities in a way. I mean I have cancer and I lost my fiancé but I also have three beautiful children that are very healthy that shine thru everything for me. I don't feel like anyone should feel sorry for me cause I'm still alive, living my life, slowly," she said.
Her co-workers plan to have some fundraisers coming up.
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