Cancer doesn’t always have to be a killer. Just ask Elia Valdez.
She graduated from the California State University, San Bernardino, then went to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
“I left my job in New York City where I was a merchandiser for top brands in the fashion industry,” Valdez said. “I was stressed and burned out, and I wanted to go home, be with my family and chill out.” She returned to Cathedral City, where she was raised, six years ago.
In the fall of 2021, she was diagnosed with aggressive Stage 2 aggressive breast cancer. She was laid off from her retail job in the middle of her treatment—a mastectomy and post-operative chemotherapy—and lost her health insurance. At $735 per month, the replacement insurance was unaffordable.
Enter the Desert Cancer Foundation (DCF). The nonprofit helped Valdez by paying her insurance premium. “It reassured me that I didn’t have to worry about finances, and I could focus on getting better,” she said.
Even so, treatment was not an easy process. “At first, I didn’t know what to expect at my first chemo session. Not knowing was hard,” she said. “After, I had constant nausea, body aches, and my hair fell out. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t even walk to the kitchen to make myself a sandwich.”
After her second session, she made mashed potatoes, because she thought they would be easy to eat. “But I couldn’t eat them,” she said. Today, she can’t stand the smell of them.
Another dark period came when Valdez learned she would never be able to have children. “The chemo killed everything—the good, the bad—and they couldn’t freeze my eggs,” she said. “l cried in my car. It was hard for me to grasp. I always wanted a family.”
But she survived, and she credits her family and friends, the DCF, the Lucy Curci Cancer Center Support Group at Eisenhower Medical Center, and her stubbornness for getting her through it. After seeing others in her support group become cancer-free, she felt heartened.
“It was like a reassurance that it’s possible. I remember thinking that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.
Today, Valdez is cancer-free and works at a high school. “I have my life back,” she said. “I’m in a better place now.”
On Saturday, Oct. 19, she will march in a sea of pink along El Paseo in Palm Desert with approximately 2,500 other survivors and supporters of cancer patients. The 18th annual Paint El Paseo Pink event will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., and is a fundraiser for DCF. Over the past 30 years, the nonprofit has worked with local medical organizations to pay for treatment for 8,800 local men and women, valued at $115 million.
“Valdez is an inspiration. Anybody who I meet at the foundation who is going through their cancer journey is an inspiration, because it proves what we do is make a difference,” said Mark Scheibach, executive director of the Desert Cancer Foundation. “They (cancer patients) don’t have to worry about their financial burden for treatment; they can focus on healing. We pay for the cancer treatments such as chemo and radiation, and help them navigate—whatever they need.”
“Anybody who I meet at the foundation who is going through their cancer journey is an inspiration, because it proves what we do is make a difference.”
Mark Scheibach, executive director of the Desert Cancer Foundation
DCF is the only local nonprofit making direct payments to local medical providers on behalf of cancer patients who otherwise could not afford access to vital care, according to Scheibach. The organization was founded in 1994 by oncologist Dr. Sebastian George, and Art and Cory Teichner.
DCF is funded via grants, donations and events such as Paint El Paseo Pink, Corks and Cuisine, and the Dr. George Charity Car Show. “There’s no limit to how many we will treat as long as they present all the necessary documentation,” Scheibach said.
Valdez described Paint El Paseo Pink as “a pep rally that celebrates life. You get beads, one for each year you’ve survived cancer. I have two beads. And there are pink ribbons representing those who didn’t survive.”
The event also raises awareness. According to the American Cancer Society, there are 4 million breast cancer survivors in the country. Many more forms of treatment are now available, and between 1989 and 2019, the death rate from breast cancer has dropped 42%, in part due to increased awareness and earlier detection.
Even though progress is being made against the disease, much work remains to be done to help those, who like Valdez, have heard these words: “I’m sorry to tell you that you have cancer.”
Paint El Paseo Pink takes place on El Paseo in Palm Desert at 7:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 19. To register or get more information, visit desertcancerfoundation.org.
This story was edited on Oct. 5 to fix the source of a quote.
