A local teacher at Vets was recently honored for being 6 years cancer free. She was honored at the pink out pep rally  on October 20th in the big gym.

”It’s very touching, it makes you very humble seeing all of your former students honoring you,” Contreras said.

Math teacher Michelle Contreras has officially surpassed six years being breast cancer free. To honor her incredible achievement, she was honored with flowers at the “Pink Out” pep rally on Oct, 20. In addition, she was also chosen to give out the spirit stick to the class with the most school spirit.

“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Contreras said, “It’s a lot of pressure because a lot of students have been my students, so I love my seniors, and my juniors, and it was just a lot of pressure knowing that you’re going to make one class happy and another unhappy.”

When Contreras went into remission it was a big relief for her. Her journey was hard and she fought tirelessly to be rid of her cancer once and for all. Once she was cleared of her cancer, her life changed.

“It makes you cherish each day, every day that you get to wake up is a gift so it makes you very appreciative and thankful of just life in general but there’s also a dark side because you learn to live with the constant fear that it might come back stronger,” Contreras said. “It was exciting to know that the surgery was a success and I was cleared, it was a big sigh of relief that it’s gone.”

Contreras also has a special message to anyone currently battling with breast cancer.

”Have faith that everything’s going to be okay, rely on your support system and don’t be afraid to ask for help because that’s a hard thing to do, and just take it one step at a time,” Contreras said.