A week after her 23rd birthday, Julie Kramer ran the Phillies 5k in Philadelphia. A couple days later, she was struggling to breathe and had to be taken to the hospital. Initially, Julie assumed it had something to do with the race she had just participated in, as she wasn\u2019t an experienced runner. However, the hospital ran some tests, and she was later diagnosed with stage IV synovial sarcoma, a rare\u00a0form of soft tissue cancer.<\/p>\n
VIDEO and ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
ARTICLE & Watch the amazing VIDEO of Unstoppable cancer fighter<\/h3>\n Julie has been an inspiration to family and friends since her diagnosis. When Ellen found out about her through Julie\u2019s friends, she knew she had to meet her. And, in true Ellen fashion, she had a couple surprises for her!<\/p>\n
Miriam Trejo<\/h4>\n Just 20 days shy of her thirtieth birthday, Miriam Trejo received a diagnosis of stage III breast cancer in March 2014. Having first noticed troubling changes in her breast almost 18 months\u00a0earlier, she had struggled to receive an accurate diagnosis. Initially told she was too young to be at risk for cancer and that the changes she felt were normal, she had to fight for the testing that ultimately led to the diagnosis. Now, with a diagnosis in hand, the recently married high school math teacher from El Paso, Texas, approached her birthday knowing that the year ahead would be rife with challenge.<\/p>\n
And yet, she says, her birthday celebration was \u201cawesome.\u201dMiriam\u2019s <\/span>voice is filled with joy\u2014and lingering disbelief\u2014as she describes the surprise party that her school community put together to honor her and support her spiritually as she approached treatment: Approximately 300 students, faculty, staff, family and even some of Miriam\u2019s former teachers gathered to wish her well and\u2014most significantly for this committed Christian\u2014offer up prayers for her well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI kept saying, \u2018I\u2019m not sad; I\u2019m so happy because this has been my prayer\u2014that our school would come together and pray for a common purpose,\u2019 never imagining that it would be for me!\u201d Miriam says, describing her elation on that day. \u201cMy students and coworkers began to pray for me during lunchtime, in the school courtyard, starting the day of my surgery and every week after that.\u00a0Seeing the impact prayer had on my school filled me with hope and gave me the courage to fight hard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nMiriam was lifted up in prayer by her school community, her family and countless people around her as she traveled to be treated at Cancer Treatment Centers of America\u00ae<\/sup> (CTCA) in Goodyear, Arizona. Once at CTCA\u00ae<\/sup>, she says, she was again made aware of the power of spiritual connection, as she met with fellow patients and with the Pastoral Care Team. Miriam and her husband, Alex, began attending church services at CTCA, and she engaged in transformative<\/span>dialogue about her faith with Jeff Paparone and Nick Hill, chaplains at the hospital.<\/p>\n\u201cI had felt guilty about my diagnosis,\u201d Miriam says. \u201cI felt like it wasn\u2019t fair to my husband to have to go through cancer\u2014we had been married only seven months. This wasn\u2019t part of the plan, and I felt like he deserved better.\u201d Through conversations with Pastor Jeff, she says, she was able to understand the sanctity of their wedding vows: \u201cI had the realization that love is unconditional. My husband vowed to love me \u2018for better or for worse, in sickness and in health.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
And, Miriam says, insight from the Pastoral Care Team helped her view her husband\u2019s feelings more clearly: \u201cPastor Jeff said, \u2018Your husband has every intention to carry out his vows if you let him.\u2019 It was hard at first, but once I\u00a0stopped worrying, opened myself up and let him care for me,\u00a0our relationship grew deeper and stronger\u00a0as I realized just how lucky I was to have him.\u00a0My appreciation for\u00a0my husband\u00a0has grown, and I\u2019m so glad to have him by my side.\u201d The perspective the Pastoral Care Team provided, through personal conversations and weekly sermons at the hospital, was invaluable, Miriam says: \u201cPastor Jeff and Pastor Nick traveled along with us on our journey. They always seemed to know when we needed to stop and pray.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having asked how she could serve God through her own challenges and pay her blessings forward, Miriam now strives to support others facing cancer. \u201cMy prayers are being answered by the opportunity to share my story,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople come up to me and tell me my story, my words, have made a difference. And I\u2019m so glad because I know it\u2019s the Holy Spirit working through me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Balance of Article &\u00a0Watch the amazing VIDEO of Unstoppable cancer fighter<\/strong><\/p>\nJocelyn Jones-Lybarger<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m super excited to be fighting so close to home in California,\u201d Jones-Lybarger told Fight Corner. \u201cOriginally I\u2019m from San Diego. It feels good to come home. All my friends and family will be there and people can watch live on AXS TV. So I\u2019m excited. I\u2019m excited, like I said, to go 3-0. That\u2019s what I look forward to and just to be the only undefeated girl under RFA and just one step closer to making it to the UFC.\u201d<\/p>\n
With other RFA fighters making their way into the big Octagon after solid runs with RFA, Lybarger knows that fate could also be in her future. But punching that ticket means she has to put on a dynamic performance, one that turns the heads of UFC brass. Standing between Jocelyn and that dream is Rios. Though her opponent is undefeated, that doesn\u2019t have Jones-Lybarger overly concerned about executing come fight time.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has a 2-0 record, she hasn\u2019t fought anybody. So no, it doesn\u2019t put any added pressure. I already feel pressure because I want to go in there, I want to perform. I train my butt off and I want to go in there and get the win. There\u2019s always that pressure, but no added pressure. I might feel a little more because all of my friends and family will be there\u00a0live, but I do a pretty good job of blocking everybody out until after the fight. So I just want to go in there and put on a performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones-Lybarger has been closer than most when it comes to getting\u00a0into the UFC. Just last year, she was picked as an alternate for TUF 20 after going through the audition process with her twin sister, Jillian in Las Vegas. Had someone had an extentuating circumstance which would have prevented them from joining the cast, she would have been called up. But that did not happen and Jocelyn watched the season unfold as her fellow strawweights took centerstage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy for them that all of them, almost half of them, are in the UFC now, you know. Their dream has come true,\u201d said Jones-Lybarger. \u201cIt was fun watching. Was I sad a little bit? Yeah. But those girls have been doing it much longer than me and have twice as many fights so I\u2019m happy to see them all in the UFC. They did a great job. They put on a good show and it was very entertaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
Training out of Arizona\u2019s MMA Lab, she credited her camp for helping her achieve her goals, especially head coach John Crouch. With around 18 fighters in her camp with UFC experience, people like Lauren Murphy, John Moraga, Benson Henderson and Efrain Escudero have shown her what it takes to get to the next level.<\/p>\n
Mainly, the 29-year-old is anxious to get a highlight reel finish in her upcoming scrap. Of course that\u2019s always the plan. But like her last outing against Rebecca Ruth at RFA 19, she\u2019s edged out more decisions than she\u2019s intended.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a battle. It was a war,\u201d Jones-Lybarger said of her last fight. \u201cThis fight coming up, right when the bell hits, we\u2019ll box and just go to work and stop riding these decisions. And if it does go fifteen minutes, I\u2019ve just got to keep moving my feet and things\u00a0like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I need better performances, stop getting these decisions. I need to make a statement,\u201d Jones-Lybarger said. \u201cI got to go in there and show what I\u2019m made of even more. As long as I keep putting in the work like I\u2019m doing, training 3-times a day, it\u2019s gonna\u00a0come. Women\u2019s MMA, the 115 division in the UFC, is just starting this year. Timing is everything. I feel like the timing is right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSean Shelby knows who I am,\u201d she added\u00a0of the UFC matchmaker. \u201cI\u2019ll shoot Sean Shelby an e-mail and let him know \u2018hey watch my fight Feb. 6.\u2019 And he\u2019s super sweet, he always e-mails me back. He\u2019s super nice. I\u2019m on their radar and I\u2019ve just got to keep getting better performances in the cage and that will get me there faster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making important statements has driven Jones-Lybarger, not just in the cage, but on a personal level too. During RFA 23, a commerical will air on behalf of Cancer Treatment Centers of America. It\u2019s a 3-minute feature on a subject close to Jocelyn\u2019s heart. Her wife has struggled with thyroid cancer and mother is also cancer survivor. But having seen loved ones suffer and confront the tremendous challenges they have, prompted Jones-Lybarger to promote awareness on the matter to others.<\/p>\n
Luckily as of late, Jocelyn\u2019s had reason to celebrate. After extensive treatment, her wife\u2019s scan came back clean 2 months ago. As an Ambassador for Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Jones-Lybarger hopes anyone\u00a0who has\u00a0been through the same ordeal and their families can get the help they need.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.cancerfightersthrive.com\/<\/a><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.mmafightcorner.com<\/a><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/blog.thebreastcancersite.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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