In 2012, at just 31 years old, Hollis was diagnosed with HER2-positive stage 3 breast cancer. Her daughter was only 18 months old, and while navigating life as a new mother, Hollis endured a year of chemotherapy, radiation, and a unilateral mastectomy.
Two years after her initial diagnosis, complications with her heart led to further evaluation at the Mayo Clinic. During that visit, Hollis suffered a life-threatening pulmonary embolism and required 45 minutes of CPR to save her life. It was then discovered that her cancer had returned. She immediately began another round of chemotherapy and underwent a second mastectomy.
In 2016, Hollis experienced a seizure while on an airplane, revealing that the cancer had spread to her brain. She received whole-brain radiation and targeted treatments, and she has continued to persevere through more than 13 years of ongoing therapies, surgeries, hospitalizations, seizures, falls, limited use of her right arm, vision complications, hair loss, and the loss of her ability to drive.
Through every setback, Hollis has held tightly to the motto her parents instilled in her: "At-TIT-ude is everything." Her father affectionately nicknamed her "Holliboo," a name that evolved into "Holliboob is my hero" as she faced her breast cancer journey with humor and grit.
Hollis lives with her 15-year-old daughter, Hayes, and finds joy in staying involved in every part of her daughter's busy life. She continues to receive treatment every three weeks at the Mayo Clinic to help prevent recurrence and depends on the steady support of family, friends, and her community for transportation to appointments, scans, and treatments.
We are honored to celebrate Hollis at Cureoke and to rally behind her as she continues her courageous fight. Please consider donating to Team Holliboob and joining us in honoring Hollis at Cureoke on April 24th.