Every Friday in October we’ve been sharing inspirational stories of women living with breast cancer and their efforts to find a cure.
So we thought you might want to see where some of the money from Race for the Cure goes. Last year you helped raise $1.7 million for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Austin affiliate.
Seventy-five percent of that money stays right here in Central Texas and helps programs like the transitional housing program which began last year.
Janie Zapata was out of work and living with her mother when a routine mammogram found breast cancer.
"Having the news that you have cancer is stressful enough to have to deal with it," she said.
In 2008, Komen for the Cure Austin Affiliate and the American Housing Foundation launched the first of its kind housing program for low-income women undergoing breast cancer treatment.
This year a dozen women just like Zapata have a place to live and get the treatment they need -- all without the worry of how they’re going to pay for it.
"It’s a change of lifestyle for me mentally, physically and spiritually. It's helping me grow and it's helping me get to know me," said Zapata.
The women do have to follow certain requirements, like finding a job or taking classes. Zapata hopes to do both.
"Right now I am enrolled in night school taking computer classes," she said.
As a mother of three and grandmother of 11, Zapata is learning how to put herself first -- something that is hard for someone who's used to taking care of everyone else. It's also something that can make a real difference in the success of cancer treatments.
"It's nice to have a roof over my head," she said. "I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. It was an answered prayer for me."
This transitional housing program has been so successful there are plans to expand it to other areas of Central Texas.
And this is just a sampling of how much you help by taking part in the Race for the Cure.
You can still register on race day, this Sunday, November 1. To learn more go here.
