The Carmen Marcano Story: Finding the Silver Lining

In December 2024, Carmen Marcano noticed a lump the size of an almond, which she initially dismissed as a benign issue while she focused on settling into life in Eugene. However, the mass grew with alarming speed, prompting a New Year’s Day visit to the emergency room where she was unfortunately sent home without a scan. Trusting her intuition, Carmen returned ten days later at the urging of an urgent care doctor; by then, the tumor had reached 5cm. By the time she was diagnosed with Stage 3 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in February, the mass had expanded to nearly 8cm and was obstructing her normal body functions. Because the tumor was inoperable due to its location, Carmen began an aggressive regimen at OHSU involving 60 chemotherapy infusions and self-administered white-cell booster shots. With over a decade of discipline as a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and fitness instructor, Carmen credits her training for helping her endure 11-hour clinic days and the physical toll of treatment.

The battle has been as much financial and systemic as it has been medical. As a single mother, Carmen has faced the exhaustion of being denied social security disability twice, feeling gaslit by a system that claims she is fit to work while she fights for her life. Currently navigating housing instability after being issued a "no-cause" rental termination, she has turned to her senator’s office for help with the social security backlog. Despite these hurdles, her daughter, currently working toward a bachelor's degree in music, has stepped up as a partner in survival, helping with gig work and learning life lessons through their shared experiences. Carmen has even channeled her experience into helping others by creating the "Get a Grip Kit," a free digital wellness guide on Instagram that offers gentle exercises and support for those in similar positions.

Throughout this isolation, having moved to a new city where she knew no one just before falling ill, Carmen has relied on a support system consisting of her daughter, her dog, weekly therapy, and even Google Gemini to help process her thoughts. While she faces six more months of chemotherapy and a decade of follow-up scans, she views her diagnosis not with anger, but as a forced opportunity to slow down and heal emotionally. For a woman who always believed she had to do everything herself, cancer has taught her the power of vulnerability and the necessity of trusting others. Carmen continues to find the silver lining, believing that she is emerging from this journey better in more ways than just being cancer-free.