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It didn't take longer after I started the radiation
that I was, that I knew it had me.
>> Tell me what to do next.
I just don't understand.
>> This makes me just wanna just,
I forget it cuz I did all I could do and I'm tired.
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>> So we are going to a small town called Princess Anne,
which is about 25 minutes south of Salisbury.
And the lady that we are meeting today,
unfortunately has developed metastasis cancer and
Marylou has been a phenomenal resource for this young woman.
She's a fighter.
This girl is a real fighter.
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>> In February of 2014, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
And I was also diagnosed four weeks pregnant at the same day,
at the same time.
And I decided, at that moment, that I was gonna refuse
treatments, just so I can have my baby.
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>> At the moment her cancer has spread pretty much through her
whole body.
It's in her adipose tissue.
It's in her bones.
It's in her lungs.
It's in her breast.
>> The cancer just kept coming back, feeding off of her
hormones and, she survived every surgery that I had.
She weighed 2 pounds, 10 ounces.
And the next day I had to start treatments, chemo and
radiation because the cancer was just growing so aggressively.
>> I went into nursing to take care of people like Nicole and
be their advocate, help them anyway I can.
I just, I'm connected to her now so I'm gonna do whatever it
takes to get her where she needs to be.
>> She never brushed me to the side.
I've just, I would give her my life.
>> If anybody,
out there can help me with this, that can
really tell me what to do next, to reach out.
Because this is something that I wouldn't put on nobody.
>> [CROSSTALK] >> Going to guess that
these are Robert's.
>> [LAUGH] That's mine but you see I haven't ate them yet mom.
>> Okay. >> Ooh coleslaw.
>> When I arrived to visit with Florence, we usually start out
with talking about her diabetes, we'll talk about what she's
eating, her exercise, what her numbers are.
>> I gotta buy what I can last me the whole month.
>> Sure. >> So, mostly TV dinners, and
sometimes it's kinda hard to get the food that I really need.
>> When she was diagnosed with this new cancer, you know,
if something is said to her that she doesn't understand,
she comes to me and we talk about it and we discuss it.
Don't wait for them.
When you're in this position,
it is, you do have a lot of weight on you.
This is not a nine to five job.
This is not me going home at 5 o'clock and saying oh well,
this is the end of my day.
This is me sitting in front of the computer screen,
looking for things about her disease.
This is me waking up in the middle of the night.
Did I do everything I could do?
Have I tapped into every facility that I can?
Have I talked to every doctor that could maybe shed some
light on this?
>> She makes me feel special.
She's more like a sister.
When they gave me her, they gave me a blessing, and
I wouldn't want anyone else to take care of me but her.
>> I can't just give her the magic wand and
make things go away.
I can't do that, and
I wish I could because she's a wonderful woman.
She's a great lady, and I just want her to have the best.
Yeah.
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>> Just don't feel like myself, like a man anymore, it's kinda,
you know used to seeing this tough guy, Gene, he don't,
he can beat pretty much anything it seems like they say, but
you can't fight what you can't see.
But when I went to the hospital I was just expecting to hear I
had pneumonia or something.
Then he come back in the room, and he looked at me and
he says it's bad news Mr. [INAUDIBLE], I said what is it?
He says, you got cancer.
>> The here and now, the immediacy of making sure he was
getting to his appointments was kinda where we were focusing on.
My goal is to make sure he knows who to call,
when he needs to call and make sure that if he's not feeling
well that there's somebody he can reach out to.
[MUSIC]
>> I've had to bite a lot of pride and ask for
help that I've never asked for before.
And that takes a lot, cuz I wasn't raised like that.
If you wanted something you worked for it.
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>> My background is oncology nursing so it's kinda,
my fit for me.
I think a big piece of what we do is
help people navigate through the system.
We really cross all lines of emotional, physical,
we're able to reach out to all of that and
connect them with what they need.
>> Time is kind of dragging.
Don't know really know what day is from the next really.
Just been a struggle worrying about the bills and
the stress, the house.
It's just a tough road I guess.
It's hard to really explain to some people.
Just don't ever give up.
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You never know.
[MUSIC]
>> Those of us who do this job, we do have big hearts.
And this is not, these people, we love them, and
they are our friends.
And we care about them,
and, [SOUND] We just wanna do
the best that we can for them.
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