CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Sara Villareal's day starts and ends with two fur-babies, Oliver and his younger brother Nugget.
She has two grown children living nearby but these Blue Heeler mixes keep her young at heart and healthy!
"I need to walk, they need to walk. So, it's good for us to get out."
Health has taken on new meaning in Villareal's life, especially following a routine mammogram just before Thanksgiving in 2016.
"They said 'there's a spot that we want to look at'. And I thought nothing of it."
She thought it was just going to be a cyst.
"I got the call at work, as a matter of fact, from the radiologist and I was really surprised that it was cancer. So I don't even remember what happened after that."
What followed was a lumpectomy on her left breast and 21-rounds of radiation.
"Every morning of radiation I went straight to work and looking back on it, I don't think I'd do it that way" said Villareal.
The 59-year-old former U.S. Probation Office supervisor said it was too much. It took a toll, leaving her tired and fatigued. However, she never really got sick or lost her hair.
"Looking back on it, like I said, you don't need to do that if you're going through treatment. Just allow yourself time to relax and heal and be good to yourself."
Nowadays, recently retired after 30-years with the feds, Villareal fills her time being active at church, gardening and volunteering as secretary at First Friday- making sure people have access to free mammograms.
"If I hadn't had my mammogram...I didn't feel a lump myself. So if I hadn't had that, what would would have happened" she wondered.
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