Lauren Valdes: I Survived Cancer and Here Is How I Did It

An Interview With Savio P. Clemente

…Just to be kind to yourself. I cannot tell you how many times I looked in the mirror after I lost my hair or after my amputation, and I was anything but kind to myself. Strength and beauty come in all shapes in sizes. So just meet yourself where you’re at and work from there.

Cancer is a horrible and terrifying disease. Yet millions of people have beaten the odds and beat cancer. Authority Magazine started a new series called “I Survived Cancer and Here Is How I Did It”. In this interview series, we are talking to cancer survivors to share their stories, in order to offer hope and provide strength to people who are being impacted by cancer today. As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lauren Valdes.

Lauren Valdes is a cancer survivor, young philanthropist, and a glass half full thinker. A Director in social media & PR, a member of the Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times® Board, and a twenty-seven-year-old trying to make her mark on the world. With a strong community in life and on social media, Lauren has made sure that cancer wasn’t the thing that defeated her but catapulted her to better things.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! We really appreciate the courage it takes to publicly share your story. Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your childhood backstory?

Thanks so much for having me! I was born and raised in Pasadena, California. I had a typical happy childhood upbringing. I participated in AYSO, was a Girl Scout, was active in theater, and was a part of student gov. in middle school. Two years into my teenage years, my life became anything but typical when I was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer at the age of 14 and decided to amputate my lower leg to keep my life.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“We just have to fix it!”

After hearing that I was diagnosed with cancer, my mom’s reaction was, we just have to fix it! That saying and mentality has stuck with me throughout my life. Any time I became unhappy or lost hope during my diagnosis and today, even with something as simple as a problem at work. Whenever I get stressed, I just say to myself, now, we just have to fix it!

That mentality that there’s always something that can be done has really been a life-changing way of thinking for me.

Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about surviving cancer. Do you feel comfortable sharing with us the story surrounding how you found out that you had cancer?

For as long as I can remember, I was always playing soccer. Most of my childhood was soccer. One game, a girl missed the ball and kicked my chin hard. It felt like the chin guard had dug straight into my bone. After that moment, my chin right above my ankle never felt the same. I would tell my parents I was in pain, they’d take me to the doctor, and the doctor would say nothing was wrong with it or that I never give my leg time to rest. He wasn’t wrong. I would go to practice during the week, my chin would get kicked, play a game on Saturday, and my chin would get kicked, and the cycle would continue.

It wasn’t until a year later, right before I started my first year of high school, I went and trained with the high school soccer team. We were all going to go and run around the Rose Bowl for training. I played soccer all my life, so I was so ready and excited to prove myself. We were halfway through the run around the Rose Bowl, and suddenly, my leg gave out. I couldn’t finish the run.

My parents took me to the doctor to get it checked, and again, the doctor believed there was nothing wrong with it. But the difference at this appointment was the 2-inch portion of my leg was warm, and if you did so much as lightly touch it, I would curl up and cry. After that, they biopsied my leg and put me in a cast because if I was in a cast, I could finally rest my leg, and a month later told me that I had cancer.

What was the scariest part of that event? What did you think was the worst thing that could happen to you?

I think the scariest part for me was that I didn’t want my life to be drastically changed. I didn’t want anyone to tell me I couldn’t live the typical life of a freshman, I didn’t want to be a year behind in school and miss my friends, and when it came time to amputate my foot because of the diagnosis, I didn’t want my life to be drastically changed. I didn’t want to walk with a limp, I wanted to keep wearing heels, and I wanted to be able to play soccer like I had always been able to. When I defeated cancer, because I always believed that “I could fix it,” I wanted to make sure that cancer wasn’t the thing that beat me but just a blip in my life.

How did you react in the short term?

I remember right after my parents, sister, and grandparents sat me down to tell me, we called the rest of my family over. I leaned into those in my community and held them close.

After the dust settled, what coping mechanisms did you use? What did you do to cope physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

I kept the “I just have to fix it mentality.” I didn’t let myself feel like I was sick or feel pity. I took it as I’m going to do whatever I can to make this only a year in my life. I will do whatever I can to keep my life as normal as possible, which is exactly what I did. I still hung out with friends, went to the movies, and frankly did a lot of things that my oncologist told me not to do. But, acting normal and not letting myself act like I was sick made it, so I didn’t feel sick.

While I was sick and in chemo, I was bored, and my family introduced me to a charity event to help raise money for kids with cancer, so I focused a lot on that and raised over $150K for cancer research and children’s hospital. I was homeschooled and finished my freshman year early. And a planned an “I’m cancer-free” trip for all my family and me.

I kept my mind busy. I distracted myself from the fact that I had cancer and kept my mind on positive, tangible actions.

Is there a particular person you are grateful towards who helped you learn to cope and heal? Can you share a story about that?

I’m eternally grateful for my family. My parents and grandparents were there every step of the way through every appointment, chemo treatment, blood transfusion, and surgery.

To my parents, who realized to help me get through this, they had to divide and conquer; my dad became research taking care of everything medical, and my mom became healthcare taking care of me.

To my sister, who was only 12 when this happened and always made sure I had a smile on my face and braved her fear of hospitals and doctors so that she could come with my dad to bring me dinner.

To my mom, who spent every day/night with me in chemo (almost 300 days) on a pretty uncomfortable chair so I wouldn’t be alone.

To my dad, who would drive to the ends of the earth to pick up whatever food I was craving at that moment.

To my grandma, who would take care of me but ultimately my mom so she wouldn’t be overwhelmed with it all. To my grandpa, who would pop in for comedic relief like when he came to bring me pizza but held it swinging sideways because he wanted to look cool.

To my aunt, who would bring her 2- and 4-year-olds over every chemo treatment to bring a smile on my face and a little distraction. I kept the “I just have to fix it mentality.” I didn’t let myself feel like I was sick or feel pity. I took it as I’m going to do whatever I can to make this only a year in my life. I will do whatever I can to keep my life as normal as possible, which is exactly what I did. I still hung out with friends, went to the movies, and frankly did a lot of things that my oncologist told me not to do. But, acting normal and not letting myself act like I was sick made it, so I didn’t feel sick.

While I was sick and in chemo, I was bored, and my family introduced me to a charity event to help raise money for kids with cancer, so I focused a lot on that and raised over $150K for cancer research and children’s hospital. I was homeschooled and finished my freshman year early. And a planned an “I’m cancer-free” trip for all my family and me.

I kept my mind busy. I distracted myself from the fact that I had cancer and kept my mind on positive, tangible actions.

In my own cancer struggle, I sometimes used the idea of embodiment to help me cope. Let’s take a minute to look at cancer from an embodiment perspective. If your cancer had a message for you, what do you think it would want or say?

You are stronger than you think. God only gives you what you can handle and some good will come out of this.

What did you learn about yourself from this very difficult experience? How has cancer shaped your worldview? What has it taught you that you might never have considered before? Can you please explain with a story or example?

I am one tough cookie; life hit me hard with cancer and losing my leg, but I got through, and I didn’t let it define me.

It taught me that everything in life happens for a reason. Because of my cancer experience, I started raising money for cancer research which led me to one of my favorite things, motivational speaking. It gave me a platform to help people. Motivational speaking is how I found my passion in storytelling, which led me to become a communication major in college, grow my social media following, and my new job as Director of PR & Influencer marketing at HJ-PR.

I was your pretty typical teenager. I was pretty self-center and all about appearances. Having cancer got me to stop thinking about something other than myself. It’s how I got into raising money to help others, to speaking to help raise awareness, and now being on the Board of Directors at Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times. It taught me to be more of an empath.

How have you used your experience to bring goodness to the world?

For the last 12 years, I have been a motivational speaker on childhood cancer and limb loss. I have a social media following based on inspiration, owning who you are, and living with a positive mindset. And I have recently joined the board of Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times.

What are a few of the biggest misconceptions and myths out there about fighting cancer that you would like to dispel?

That everyone’s cancer journey is the same as someone who has personally had cancer and who has dated someone who has had cancer. For the most part, I didn’t have too bad of side effects from my treatments. Yes, I lost all my hair, yes, I would have to get blood transfusions after every treatment, but I would walk out of those treatments with rosier cheeks. I was hungry with a side of nausea instead of never hungry with a side of nausea. For me, it was really about mind over matter.

It is important to trust your body and do your research, but ultimately do what is best for you and your well-being.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your experiences and knowledge, what advice would you give to others who have recently been diagnosed with cancer? What are your “5 Things You Need To Beat Cancer? Please share a story or example for each.

1. A great support system — I wouldn’t have been able to get through what I did without my family by my side or nurses that would wake me up for medicine dress like a smurf for when I was board make me look at all of their wedding photos for a distraction.
2. A positive and driven mindset — stay positive as much as you can; you just have to fix it.
3. Someone to handle healthcare and someone to handle healthcare and someone to take care of research — divvy up the workload, so there’s no burnt out for those around you
4. Schedule mental health breaks — make sure to take time with those you love (in a safe way for you, of course). Being around those who aren’t around cancer 100% will do wonders for your mentality!
5. A Cancer go-bag (your favorite pillow, snacks, socks, games, coloring books, etc.)

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be?

Just to be kind to yourself. I cannot tell you how many times I looked in the mirror after I lost my hair or after my amputation, and I was anything but kind to myself. Strength and beauty come in all shapes in sizes. So just meet yourself where you’re at and work from there.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. :-)

Amy Purdy. As a fellow amputee, I have always admired her strength, message, and her determination to push the envelope for amputees. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to pick her brain about tips and trips of prosthetics.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can follow me on Instagram at @Laurenmvaldes

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

About The Interviewer: Savio P. Clemente coaches cancer survivors to overcome the confusion and gain the clarity needed to get busy living in mind, body, and spirit. He inspires health and wellness seekers to find meaning in the “why” and to cultivate resilience in their mindset. Savio is a Board Certified wellness coach (NBC-HWC, ACC), stage 3 cancer survivor, podcaster, writer, and founder of The Human Resolve LLC.

Savio pens a weekly newsletter at thehumanresolve.com where he delves into secrets from living smarter to feeding your “three brains” — head 🧠, heart 💓, and gut 🤰 — in hopes of connecting the dots to those sticky parts in our nature that matter.

He has been featured on Fox News, and has collaborated with Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, Food Network, WW, and Bloomberg. His mission is to offer clients, listeners, and viewers alike tangible takeaways in living a truly healthy, wealthy, and wise lifestyle.

Savio lives in the suburbs of Westchester County, New York and continues to follow his boundless curiosity. He hopes to one day live out a childhood fantasy and explore outer space.