It was there that Salazar met her husband to be, Steve, who was planning to join the military. Though Salazar said she wasn’t thinking then about getting married, she fell in love, and everything changed.
Though Salazar said she wanted a large family, she didn’t think she would have her children so quickly after marriage. Her first two children, Caleb and Christian, are three years apart and daughter Cara was born two years after Caleb.
“I graduated from Wright State in 2004 with a degree in psychology,” Salazar said. “I loved working with inner city kids and fell in love with them and their families.”
With a busy, growing family and a job she loved, Salazar wasn’t thinking about adding another child to their family. Then she met Alexis, a young mother from Dayton who was battling stage 4 breast cancer.
“Alexis had metastatic disease and her prognosis was poor,” Salazar said. “She had a new baby and was looking for a home for her.”
After meeting Alexis, Salazar returned home but couldn’t stop thinking about the young woman who was fighting for her life. After three sleepless nights, Salazar’s husband asks her what was troubling her.
“I asked Steve if he would meet Alexis,” Salazar said.
The couple drove to a local Meijer parking lot for the meeting. When she got off the bus, Alexis walked past Salazar straight to her husband.
“She asked Steve if he could help her baby have a better life,” Salazar said. “His heart melted into a puddle then and there.”
The couple began adoption proceedings and worked with an attorney to gain full custody of Alexis’ daughter, whom they named Lexi after her birth mom. The baby came to live with the family at 10 months old, and her mother passed away from her breast cancer when Lexi was 19 months old. Alexis had just turned 24.
“This was one of the hardest things for me,” Salazar said. “She was so young and so scared.”
The road for the Salazar family was rocky after Alexis passed away. Lexi had difficulty with attachment and getting her adjusted took time. Eventually, though, Lexi became a “perfect part of our family.”
Then Salazar found a lump in her breast. On March 3, 2005, after an ultrasound and guided biopsy, Salazar was diagnosed with HER-2 positive breast cancer, stage 1.
“I was very angry,” Salazar said. “We took in Lexi and getting her, and our family adjustment wasn’t easy, and all I could think was she was going to lose another mom.”
Salazar’s children were age 10, 7, 4 and Lexi was 3 when she was diagnosed. And it turned out, Salazar’s cancer was the same type that Lexi’s biological mother had.
The next steps for Salazar included treatment. She elected to go to Ohio State University for a bilateral mastectomy since she knew she wanted no more children.
“I knew I would need chemo, but I did some research about Herceptin, which was still in clinical trials at the time,” Salazar said.
After her mastectomy, Salazar had four rounds of chemotherapy treatment, also known as the “red devil.” While she was getting treatment, Herceptin was approved for patient use.
“The chemo was really hard, and I lost all my hair,” Salazar said. “But the Herceptin had very few side effects.”
After a year, Salazar’s hair began to grow back and scans showed she was cancer-free. She finished her last treatment in July of 2006.
Today, Salazar is working as the CEO of Pink Ribbon Good (PRG-formerly Pink Ribbon Girls) — a nonprofit organization that supports breast cancer patients and their families. She started with the organization in 2012. Though the organization began and remains headquartered in Dayton, PRG now has a presence in six other regions. Patients are referred to PRG by doctors and hospitals and the average women they serve is 57 years old.
Salazar and Lexi’s biological mom are both proof, however, that cancer can hit anyone at any age.
“We support patients and families with transportation and meals,” Salazar said. “Last year we helped by providing 184,000 meals and in June of this year, we served our 1 millionth meal.”
Salazar admits her journey has been difficult, but she continues to be thankful — for the people she meets and the support of the Dayton community.
“It’s so hard. We go to a lot of funerals, and I cry at every one,” Salazar said. “What’s so good is seeing people living in the moment and working hard to be the best mom and partner they can.”
For more information, log on to pinkribbongood.org.
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