“It just goes to show you just how prevalent it is,” she said.

By Sept. 10, she said she was back at work. However, she said she was very sick after the transplant and had to stay close to the hospital at first, but she knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

She explained that, with this treatment, a patient needed to get stem cells from themself or a sibling, and Hernandez’s brother had died a year and a half before she was diagnosed with cancer. She said a bone marrow biopsy was done on her and her cells were not infected.

“It was not in my bone marrow yet, so they were able to harvest mine. ... Before this was introduced to me, I always assumed that stem cells come from unborn babies. But we all have stem cells,” said Hernandez.

She added that people need to be more informed.

“If I had not had a stem cell transplant, I would have died. There’s no doubt,” she said matter-of-factly.

She warned that there were side-effects to the treatment like cataracts, which she has, but the side-effects were an ‘if’ and the other alternative wasn’t an ‘if.’

Hernandez also encouraged people to immediately call the American Cancer Society if they are diagnosed with cancer because this was a great place to start.

“When you have something like that going on you may not get it at first. ... You’re still in the shock of ‘I’ve got cancer,’” she said.

She said someone who has been diagnosed needs to start asking questions quickly because time is of the utmost importance, and they also need to learn to help take care of themselves even if they have a caregiver. She said she did not want to feel helpless and wanted to be active in taking care of herself. She said she felt like if she let the caregiver do everything for her, she would feel like she was giving up.

“There is so much to learn. Just so much to learn,” she said.

She said cancer patients need to go to the people who can help them. She added that she had cancer for an entire year before she found out that she could get a prescription for a wig.

“Don’t be hesitant about asking questions,” she admonished.

She said call everyone who might be able to give answers about the disease. She said the American Cancer Society has a lot of informative materials for cancer patients and their families, and the Relay for Life event April 24 will also have information available on-site.

“I want people to know that when they say to you that you’ve got cancer, don’t give up. Fight. ... Be a warrior for yourself,” said Hernandez emphatically.