Strangers to Sisters: 2 women fighting breast cancer find solace in friendship
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) -- Jennifer Sharp and Bobbye Moreno are fighting breast cancer together.
"She's the momma of the group," Sharp said about Moreno. Both were diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of the year, just about a month apart.
The two met during chemotherapy at The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Arlington, and something sparked between them, then they started scheduling their treatments at the same time and held each other up during the toughest moments.
"For me it was really round four," Sharp said.
She recalled walking up to Moreno, sitting in her lap and crying.
"I cried for about five minutes, and then she just kind of whispered in my ear, 'Now you go over there and get it done.'"
They went from strangers to sisters in the fight for the next six months. Little did they know their bond ran even deeper. Sharp made the discovery during a chance phone call to her mom.
"I said, 'I need you to put my Bobbye on your prayer list because she has her reconstruction on Monday,' and my mom said, 'That's really strange, Jenn. My cousin Bobbye is on a prayer list and she's having reconstruction on Monday.'"
"Our grandparents are siblings," Moreno shared.
The two women who never met before chemotherapy were bonded by blood. Suddenly, that inexplicable chemistry made sense to them and their doctors.
"I was shocked," said their oncologist, Dr. Deepna Jaiswal. "I could feel there was something there."
Their breast surgeon, Dr. Seyi Ojo, said she actually saw them change and transform.
"I saw joy back in their journeys," Ojo said.
The two discovered newfound faith along with family.
"To me our whole meeting was such a miracle," Sharp said. "To have the same surgeon, the same oncologist, the same cancer clinic. There's so many different clinics, and to be in the same clinic together. In the same pod. On the same day. We were meant to be."
A meeting that led to a bond stronger than their illness. Now they also share a newly adopted motto they wear proudly on their shirts:
"No one in this family fights alone."
Both women are doing well and have post-care appointments for the next few months.
