CLEVELAND — Five years ago, Janet Ruiz sat in her living room, choosing to shave her head after being diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.
"I thought to myself, why be selfish? You’re going to lose it anyway, so give it up, and I thought, why not donate my hair to kids with the same disease," said Ruiz.
Now, in that same form, Ruiz celebrates five years of being breast cancer-free, a major milestone for any survivor.
“I didn’t want the devil to defeat me. I wanted to defeat cancer, defeat the devil, I wanted to defeat the odds," said Ruiz.
In 2019, on her birthday, she won.
"If you can say so, every year on my birthday, you know, I just remember that special moment and it just reminds me of how God gave me a second chance, a second opportunity to live. What better day to ring that bell than on your birthday," said Ruiz.
Being given this second chance is not something that she takes lightly.
"I was blessed. I always say I was blessed to have been chosen because I'm here to be able to tell the story and raise awareness and help other women overcome this because I always feel that cancer is mental," said Ruiz.
Moving forward can be tough, but making the most of opportunities is the perspective she gained during her toughest times.
"There are times in the back of your head where you're thinking, 'Ok, am I gonna make it,' you know, 'Am I gonna take it to five years?' and 'Is it going to come back?' But you try to like remove those, you know, it's like a computer when you have to delete, you know, garbage, you have to delete garbage from your head as well," said Ruiz. "And, when those negative thoughts come in, you have to immediately, you know, take charge of your life and take control and, and delete, delete that out of your head."
As she looks back on the last five years, she focuses on the blessings provided rather than the struggles she went through.
"2024 I remember waking up and, first of all, dropped to my knees. Thank God, you know, for being here another day. But most importantly, another year, you know, when I got diagnosed with breast cancer, I had one grandchild. Now I have four. So after that, I've been able to see three grandchildren. I got to see my daughter get married and my son graduate college. I'm just here to tell the story, and I'm blessed to be able to do that," said Ruiz.
Now, Ruiz dedicates her life to helping other women by spreading positivity and awareness through her organization called "Her-2 Can Survive."
Her organization partners with MetroHealth to help register women for their mammograms.
"I wanted to fight for others. I wanted to be an inspiration to other women, raise awareness and show the women that you can do it," said Ruiz. "I lost half of my family at age 17, and I didn't want my mom to go through that again. I didn't want my mom to bury her only living child."
She has also since returned to school and obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Public Health. She is a couple of courses away from obtaining her Master's Degree.
Her organization partners with MetroHealth to help register women for their mammograms.
As we have said all month long, awareness about early detection is key.