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Her daughter Astrid tells the story: My father noticed that my mother, Yolanda Vargas, had a ball-shaped anomaly on her lower back in December 2021. My mother went to the doctor and the doctor said that it was fatty tissue and did not pay attention to it. By May 2022 the ball had grown to the size of a grapefruit. My mother sought out another doctor who said it needed to be removed asap. On June 3rd, 2022, my mother had surgery and the ball was removed and sent to pathology. It was sent to three different locations to diagnose (Los Angeles, Boston, and New York) because it was a tricky diagnosis. On July 21, 2022, my mother received a call stating that it was malignant. She then had to see oncology and radiology in Stamford who were suggesting radiology and chemotherapy. My mother sought out a second opinion at Dana Farber in Boston which specialize in Sarcoma Cancers. When the second opinion came back with similar results my mother was faced with the decision to undergo six rounds of chemotherapy (Medicine: Doxorubicin and IFEX). Each round was four days every three weeks. We returned home to Stamford and my mother went through the treatment and saw a doctor in Stamford, CT (Stamford Health Bennett Cancer Center) and a doctor in Boston (Dana Farber). My mother finished chemotherapy in January 2023 and we as a family clung to our faith throughout the whole process. By the grace of God, God fulfilled his promises that she would not die but live to testify of all He did (Psalms 118:17), and that by His wounds she would be healed (Isaiah 53:5). She is in amazing health and attributes her healing to God. Her hair is growing back and her scans 6 months after the last chemotherapy session are cancer free! We are waiting for her to have cancer-free scans a year after the last chemotherapy session and plan to remove the port in February of 2024.
