KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For one Knoxville mother in her early 30s, a breast cancer diagnosis came as a shock this year. But, she is using her love of the Vols to stay strong through the fight.
From cheering on Rocky Top to navigating the unknowns of adulthood, Candace Rich has shown signs of strength throughout her whole life.
"I am a mom of my son, Hayes, and a wife of my husband, Garrett," Rich said. "I have another son, Griffin, who passed away a couple of years ago, who's just as important."
Griffin was born with a rare condition, a FARSB gene mutation. According to Rich, there have been less than 20 people ever diagnosed with that condition. Unknowingly, she and her husband are both carriers of the gene.
“We learned that we're just gonna have to do IVF and do the testing so that we don't have that unfortunate outcome again," Rich said.
Griffin spent a large chunk of his life in the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic and died just shy of becoming a year old, but he showed how precious each day is. Their second son, Hayes, is almost 2 years old now.
"It's nice just to remind yourself to have faith and stay strong," Rich said. "I know that I need to prioritize the things that are most important to me."
That strength mindset has also been molded in the last few months after Rich found a swollen lymph node. She went and got the spot checked out, and was officially diagnosed with breast cancer on Aug. 31. It's stage-two invasive ductal carcinoma, and is HER2 positive.
At 33 years old, she had never had a mammogram before. She knew her family did have a history of breast cancer because her mother fought and beat the disease previously. Rich said she wanted to get a mammogram at 30 years old, but restrictions during the pandemic delayed it.
Now, Rich is on a treatment plan, currently undergoing chemotherapy. She is cold capping, with the help of her husband, to try and save her hair from falling out.
While there are more treatments and surgeries on the horizon, she is staying focused on the future.
"I'm really motivated to do the treatment," Rich said. "It's just a really long road knowing that it goes on for that long. I want to become well, I want to be able to care for my son and watch him grow up and be with my husband for all these future years."
She wants to grow her family but will have to have help through IVF. Her breast cancer treatment is delaying the process of having more children right now.
Every point of the process is expensive. That is why she is selling VOLS yard signs to help raise money for her fight. The signs are officially licensed through the University of Tennessee and look very similar to the signs seen atop Neyland Stadium.
You can purchase those yard signs at ThreeCheersCreative.com.