Graduation from Moreno Valley College on June 9 was a major milestone for sisters Catherine Phillips and Theresa Doss, who navigated a long, lonely and perilous road to get to this point.

Both have overcome tremendous challenges and both found comfort in God and individual family members to survive. For Catherine, 42, it was a rare form of liver cancer. For Theresa, 41, it was drug and alcohol addiction.

Shortly after Catherine started attending RCCD Moreno Valley in 2001, she went to the emergency room with sharp stomach pains.  The doctor told her it was food poisoning and gave her some pain medication.  Several months later, the same thing happened, but Catherine insisted on having some tests run to determine what the problem was.  After 10 days of testing, she found herself alone in a conference room sitting across from a physician.

“He told me I had cancer and that they didn’t have the facilities to help me.  Then he walked out of the room,” Catherine recalled. “He left me sitting there all alone. I didn’t get a chance to ask him any questions so I could understand more about my condition.”

With the exception of her grandmother, who had raised the girls since their mother died when they were two and one, Catherine’s family, including her boyfriend of 15 years, abandoned her with four children under the age of 12. 

Catherine continued her studies at Moreno Valley after deciding to change her major from Administration of Justice to Human Services because she wants to make sure no one else in her situation has to face cancer alone.

“I really want family members to understand that when a patient is diagnosed, they are still the same person; they’re just ill. You can’t catch it,” Catherine said.

After several surgeries to remove massive tumors on her liver and treatments to prevent blood flow to the remaining tumors, Catherine expects to live a normal life. Her oncologist at City of Hope is encouraging her to consider being a healthcare advocate for the African-American community, which has a tendency to avoid speaking about sickness or seeking medical care until it’s too late.

“She said I’d be great for going out and talking to people, helping them get help, and educating them about preventive health care,” Catherine stated.

With the worst of her illness behind her and her future in front of her, Catherine said that prayer and her children are what kept her going.

“I would ask God to let me live long enough to see my kids grow up, stand on their own two feet, and take care of themselves,” Catherine said, adding that her three oldest children are now attending Moreno Valley College.

Theresa, 41, also relied on the grace of God to get through college after struggling with drug and alcohol addictions that landed her in jail several times. Ironically, it was a judge who saved her life.

In 2003, Theresa was in jail for the second or third time facing nine years in prison. Instead, she was diverted to a drug treatment court program -- one of California’s first -- that had been established by former San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Patrick Morris, who is now mayor of San Bernardino.

“Judge Morris was my wakeup call to get my head right. I realized I couldn’t do it for my children or their father or my family members.  I had to do it for myself,” stated Theresa.  “He gave me a chance to regain my life back.”

Today, Theresa is sober. She dresses modestly and wears a head covering emblematic of the Nation of Islam, which she converted to in 2006. Theresa is focused on regaining custody of her youngest daughter, who is being raised by Catherine.

Theresa, who started attending classes at RCCD Moreno Valley in 2007, also received her associate’s degree in Human Services. She plans to enroll in the Alcohol and Drug Studies certificate program at San Bernardino Valley College with the goal of helping others like herself.

Even though Theresa was unable to provide support for Catherine during her illness, she said Catherine was always there to support her.

“Out of everyone in my family when I had no place to stay, my sister was the only one who didn’t put the bars on her door,” Theresa said.