SAN DIMAS, Calif. — Thousands continue to fight breast cancer as the search for a cure continues. But this year, patients have to fight both cancer and the coronavirus threat. 

Vanessa Sandez of San Dimas never thought she'd have to have surgery alone when she found a lump in February, she said.

At 40 years old, she wanted a lumpectomy to get rid of cancer she thought she was too young to get. Her family was ready to join her in Duarte at City of Hope until everything changed.

"My first appointments at City of Hope were lively, it was buzzing, and there were tons of people everywhere," Sandez said. "Then, once my first actual appointments hit, it was like a ghost town."

Her lumpectomy was in March, the same month the stay-at-home order started. No family members could join her in the hospital.

Sandez said she felt nervous when going to appointments alone, and her mind started to race. Not only was she fighting breast cancer, but she also had to worry about COVID-19.

"This was also a big thing happening in my life, and usually, you expect the people you love to be there with you 150 percent, but they just couldn't be there physically, so I was scared," Sandez said.

Her husband, Julio, talked to her through FaceTime. Sending her to surgery alone, and not being able to hold her hand, was hard for him too.

"We've shared everything together. Every big moment, every low moment that we had, it's always been together," Julio said. "As COVID hit its peak and I couldn't go in there, it was rough. I know how she is, I know she gets very anxious and very scared alone and she needs that comfort, and I wanted to be there." 

She was forced to lean on him virtually once more. After doctors removed her lump, they told her she had a gene that made the likelihood of breast cancer returning high, she said. She thought about her husband and two boys and decided to go back in, alone, for a double mastectomy.

"I said, 'I'm ready, chop them off. Do what you gotta do because I'm only 40. I have a long life to live. I have my kids. I have my husband,'" Sandez said.

Now she's home with her boys. They helped her get through it all, she said. And so did a hidden strength she didn't know she had.

"Trust yourself," Sandez said. "Know that you're strong enough to get through anything, and you can."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer has the highest rate of new cases in California, with over 27,000 cases reported in 2017.