DENVER — After surviving breast cancer, Christina Somes turned her personal journey into a mission to help others.
She was 49 years old when she got a call she never expected.
“When the surgeon called and told me that I had breast cancer, I literally almost wrecked my car because I was driving and I was so sure that I didn't have breast cancer,” she recalled. “I consider myself super healthy. I eat well, I exercise like crazy, no breast cancer history in my family."
After coming to terms with her diagnosis, she decided she wanted to do something to help others who may find themselves fighting similar battles.
“I said, ‘Okay, now I need to go get treatment, get it over with, and move on with my life,” Christina Somes said.
Christina Somes is now eight years cancer-free and launched a non-profit, Colorado Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation (CBCAF).
She co-founded the organization with her husband, Scot Somes, after she realized certain support was missing.
“Scot and I were talking about, how can we give back to the community?” she said. “I saw this huge need for people needing monetary assistance while they were going through treatment because there is not a lot of that."
The couple said the organization's overall goal is to provide as much financial support as possible to those who need it during treatment through grants.
This year, they gave away over $170,000 in grants, twice as much as last year.
One of the organization’s fundraisers is a golf tournament it has been hosting for eight years. They are also preparing for a pickleball challenge coming up in February.
“To reach more people is basically the bottom line,” said Scot Somes.
He had questions of his own when his wife received her diagnosis.
“I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh, what do we do?’,” he recalled. “Then I would try to be as empathetic as I could, but she's like, ‘you're not going through it. You don't understand.’ I'm like, ‘No, I get that, but what can I do?'"
His questions sparked another service he realized the community needed.
“I had to figure out my own path on how to best support her going through this. So, I also offer the ability for husbands or spouses, partners, to be able to call me and say, 'Well, my wife's doing this, or my partner's doing this. What was your response?” said Scot Somes.
Another huge part of the organization’s mission is to educate the community on the disease. Christina and Scot emphasize the importance of getting tested early, as it becomes more prevalent.
Christina Somes said the feedback they have received from the community has been “heart-filling,” and helping others has shaped how she views her own journey.
“It definitely fills my cup completely. In the beginning, I was so against anybody knowing that I even had breast cancer,” she said. “Now I just feel like that. It's kind of like my calling is just to help these women."
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