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Officer battling breast cancer

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    Albuquerque, NM (KOAT) — For 18 years, Bobbie Jean Terrazas has been responding to emergencies all over New Mexico, but she is now battling her own emergency at home.

“I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and then shortly, not too long ago, I found out I tested positive for the BRCA gene,” said Terrazas.

Since May, she has been undergoing chemo treatments and said life has not been easy.

“It’s just hard you know. I go 100 miles per hour most of my life and I don’t know how to slow down, and that’s what this has done. It’s slowed me down, you know,” said Terrazas.

On top of that, it’s been financially difficult.

“Because of the doctor’s appointments, my wife wasn’t able to work. My wife had to stay home,” she said.

Terrazas joined New Mexico State Police in 2001 after being stopped multiple times as a young kid.

“It was Waldo Winborn, a big state police officer, about 7 foot tall. He stopped me probably six times,” Terrazas said.

For the last 18 years, she has made sure of two things: changing people’s lives and making a difference.

Even now, going through the toughest part of her life, she’s making sure to do the same thing.

“For me, it’s a challenge. it’s about me making a difference and constantly pushing myself to a different level,” Terrazs said.

Whenever her body allows, she’s in the office working away, making sure she can help as many people as she can. But, it’s not an easy task while going through chemo.

“It’s not about next week; it’s not about next month or next year even. It’s just getting through the next day and making sure I feel well enough to go to work,” Terrazas said.

Terrazas’ mother died from ovarian cancer and she wants to remind everyone, always make your health a priority.

“If you catch it early enough, then you aren’t having to go through the level of treatments that I am having to go through. I think if I would have caught this two years ago, things would have been different,” she said.

The New Mexico State Police Foundation is selling raffle tickets with proceeds going to help Officer Terrazas and seven others in the department going through a similar battle.

If you’d like to purchase tickets, call Sgt. Eric Milmeth at (505) 225-4148 or email nmspfoundation@gmail.com

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