CLEVELAND — "This is not an easy journey. So, if you have someone with you who knows what you're going through, it makes a difference as opposed to someone that has no clue."
Adrienne Nowling is the founder of the Pinktabulous Divas, an online support group on Facebook in Northeast Ohio.
Nowling still remembers the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"He said, 'let's do a biopsy.' I got the biopsy done on Friday, and I was diagnosed [with breast cancer] on Tuesday," said Nowling.
After that gut-wrenching diagnosis, she says her life was put on pause. All of her focus shifted to beating breast cancer.
"After being diagnosed in July, I had a mastectomy in August, I started Chemo in October and completed Chemo in January, and then later down the line, I had a right reconstructive surgery, said, Nowling."
After her surgery, she began to question God.
"After I was diagnosed, I said, 'Lord, why me?' 'What did I do to deserve this?'"
But now, Nowling believes God her pain into her purpose.
"I had a lady tell me, she said, 'I'm going to tell you something to you, and you might not like it.' she said, 'why not you?' 'Who are you to question God?' God has a plan, and my plan was to be diagnosed with breast cancer, go through it, start this group, to help the next person that's saying…'why me?'"
Now, Nowlings inspires thousands of women in Northeast Ohio to continue fighting.
A member of the group, Lisha Price said when she was taken to the ER for breast cancer complications, it was Nowlings that got her through it.
"I was really scared because I was in so much pain, and I didn't know what was going on and what was happening, and Adrienne actually walked me through that. She talked me through that. She was on the phone with me the whole time I was in the emergency room, for about three hours! She was on the phone encouraging me."
The Pinktabulous Divas meet every month for lunch so that no one feels like they are all alone in the fight.
3News surprised the group with a $1,000 donation, to cover the cost of the group's next lunch.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above previously aired on 3News on May 6, 2022.