Teresa Gutierrez: When Helping Others Becomes Healing

— By Megan Brown, Marketing Manager

January 22, 2026

As an HR professional and mother of two daughters, Teresa Gutierrez was living a busy life in the Milwaukee area. She was 39 when she felt a lump while drying off from a shower and reached out to her doctor’s office to share her concerns. “They said, ‘You’re really young, I wouldn’t be too worried about it,’” she remembers.

After deciding to trust her instincts, Teresa advocated for herself and requested a mammogram. The call she received that confirmed she had breast cancer still brings up strong emotions. “I was told, ‘Don’t worry, you have the good kind.’ Now, I just hate hearing that. Why would you say that?” she asks.

Teresa’s original treatment plan was a lumpectomy and radiation, but after her care team discovered there was lymph node involvement, chemotherapy was also recommended.

“My world got flipped upside down very, very quickly,” she says. “It went from ‘you have the good kind’ to ‘you have full-blown treatment coming at you.’ I didn’t even know there were different types of breast cancer. I thought breast cancer was breast cancer.”

Feeling Alone and Needing Support

As treatment intensified, Teresa faced another reality: she felt completely alone. “My support network is very small,” she shares.

She went to her chemotherapy appointments by herself, navigated complications alone, and tried to keep showing up for her daughters. Her youngest daughter has special needs and her older daughter’s best friend had recently lost her mother to cancer, leading Teresa’s older daughter to fear she could lose her mom too.

“It was really, really hard,” she says. “I had to be a parent every day, but I didn’t feel like myself.”

When ABCD Changed Everything

Eventually, a nurse urged Teresa to call ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis.

“At first I was like, what are they going to do for me?” she recalls. “I had been given so many phone numbers during cancer, it was overwhelming.”

But this was different. “ABCD was so responsive,” she says. “They got back to me very quickly and matched me very quickly. It was life-changing to have somebody who can relate to you.”

For the first time, Teresa finally felt understood. She didn’t have to explain what chemotherapy side effects felt like or why she felt lonely. “That support from ABCD was so important,” she says.

Healing Through Helping

As Teresa continued through her breast cancer experience, ABCD Director of Services Carrie Williams noticed Teresa was openly sharing what she went through on social media to help others. Carrie reached out and asked Teresa if she had ever considered becoming a Mentor.

“At first I thought no,” Teresa admits. “Then I decided maybe I’ll do this.”

She knew younger patients, people with complicated diagnoses, and minorities were often underrepresented and she wanted to change that. “I was super young when I was diagnosed, my case was complicated, and I’m Hispanic. All these things added up and I decided to become an ABCD Mentor.”

In her first year as a Mentor, Teresa has supported eight Participants. One of the things that’s surprised her most is how much healing is coming back her way. “It’s incredibly rewarding and I look forward to the phone calls,” she says.

Reflecting on her eight matches, she’s noticed that people are struggling to navigate what comes after treatment ends. Teresa struggled with it too. “There’s this shift that takes place,” she explains. “Just because the cancer’s out of your body doesn’t mean the cancer experience is over.” She often tells her Participants it’s okay to not be okay.

Showing Up for Others and Herself

Now, Teresa mentors and shows up for ABCD in other ways, including helping at events in the community. She was recently honored as the Milhockey Role Model during a Milwaukee Admirals Hockey Fights Cancer game, an especially meaningful moment for someone who once experienced the isolation that a cancer diagnosis can bring.

“I think it’s super important to get the word out about ABCD,” she emphasizes. “People should know how ABCD can help.”

Teresa continues to navigate the physical, emotional, and professional ripple effects of cancer, but she’s doing so with purpose. She even dreams of shifting into non-profit work to help others more directly.

Thanks to ABCD’s support, Teresa found connection when she felt alone. And now, she’s offering that same connection to others by sharing her lived experience.

“Anybody should reach out to ABCD if they’re struggling,” she says. “Every story’s valid. Every story needs support.”

Teresa was diagnosed with Stage 1 ER+ PR+ HER2- invasive ductal carcinoma with associated ductal carcinoma in situ. Her treatment included a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation.