Introducing Tammy Riser.

Tammy was born in Abilene, Texas, to parents who were attending McMurry University. Once they graduated, the family moved to Farmington to be close to her mother's side of the family. Throughout Tammy’s childhood, they made a few more moves, shifting to Kayenta, AZ, Chinle, AZ, where she was educated for 13 years on the Navajo Reservation, then Farmington, where she completed her education.

Tammy has been married to her husband, a retired United Methodist pastor, for 33 years. They raised three sons together, and Tammy has recently retired from a 25-year career as a teacher. Her family is very close. Even though all of her children are over 30 and live all over, they still talk every day. Tammy is a lover of the outdoors, and her favorite hobbies are yard work, gardening, reading, walking, jogging, and listening to nature.

In May of 2019, when Tammy was 57, she was diagnosed with Stage III Breast Cancer on the left side. She had noticed a lump just after moving to Bloomfield, and since she did not yet have a primary care physician, she made an appointment with her sister's physician. She was initially shocked because this news came after a very stressful year for Tammy and her husband, who had been preparing for his retirement, moving, and Tammy finding a new job.

Despite the hard news, Tammy has an incredible support network around her. She relied on her friends and family, as well as her church community. Notably, her sister was a great help, responding to the initial diagnosis with "alright, let's do this and get this over with!" Tammy's sister knew Tammy well and wanted to help her through the inevitability of losing her hair, which was always a big challenge for Tammy. Her sister made her an appointment at a fancy salon, brought pink champagne, and a crown for Tammy to wear. They laughed, cried, and made a difficult process into a fun day. Since then, the sisters have been in contact every day, and Tammy is extremely grateful for the help and support.

Tammy began chemotherapy in July of 2019 and had a total of 15 rounds of chemo. She didn't know what to expect but started to feel side-effects pretty quickly. Her final four chemo treatments were the most difficult, but Tammy completed her treatments in December of 2019. She then began 33 rounds of radiation therapy. Tammy received the news in February of 2020 that her cancer was in remission.



Tammy's doctors gave her hope, and she found them invaluable throughout her treatment. They made her a road map, a direction that she needed to start traveling down. She also received funding from the Cathy Lincoln Memorial Cancer Fund, which helped her afford treatments, and transportation to and from treatments.