Every two minutes - someone, somewhere in the U.S. is diagnosed with breast cancer.
Early detection increases the chance of survival and support comes from those who've fought and won like Catalina Villegas.
"I got that call from my doctor, and heard those words that, you know, never want to hear, right? You have cancer," as she talked to NBC 5 about the diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma stage 2 in the spring of 2023 at the age of 36.
Two months and two chemo treatments later, the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Major League Baseball threw the first pitch at a Texas Rangers baseball game. Her good friend Hall of Famer "Pudge" Rodriguez surprised her when he showed up to catch.
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"He's been there always, and actually I still get, each morning I get a Bible verse or a very positive quote from him telling me that I'm going to be OK, right? And he still does it. even though I'm in remission, thankfully," she said.
It took 17 treatments and two major surgeries to get to remission with Villegas working remotely through most of it.
"People don't tell you, like, when you're battling cancer, it's actually, like, another full-time job, you know, in between tests, plans, chemo, treatments, surgeries, and at the same time you're trying to balance work," she said.
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It was grueling but in the chemo room or clubhouse, as she calls it, Villegas found connection.
"I got to meet different personalities, different patients, and that's the other lesson about cancer, like, cancer doesn't have any boundaries, doesn't discriminate, right? So you get to see people from different races, different genders, different ethnicities, different sexual orientation," she said. "It affects all of us, and I think that's what we have to stay together to find a cure."
The inclusiveness of cancer, the need to accept help from others and the importance of prioritizing those she loved were all lessons Villegas learned from cancer.
"I've always been a Type A workaholic, work, work, work, and then my family comes second, third. This made me realize that family and friends is everything," she said.
Villegas commutes from her home in Dallas to MLB offices in New York. She admits it can be tiresome at times but she's passionate about her work to make sure everyone feels seen, heard and valued. She's now just as committed to raising awareness about cancer.
"It's not about me, but it's about making sure that we're getting preventative care, making sure that we're doing, getting your screens. If you feel something bad in your body, like, you have to go and get checkups, right? And then, I think early detection saved my life, right?" she said. "I wouldn't be here, also, if I wouldn't have an amazing partner, a spouse, that pushed me to go to get, my mammogram, right? Because I was like, 'Oh, no, nothing,' you know? And kept on pushing, and you're busy, right? You know, it's like, we're busy, we're working, like, no, make time for you."
Villegas credits the Dallas-based Susan G. Komen organization for decades of research and advocacy in fighting cancer. MLB has supported Komen since 2003 and has contributed more than $2 million in support of its mission to end breast cancer.
