Rebeca Clay-Flores, Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 1: My Story

During my extremely long campaign season last year (2024), and winning three elections, I was fighting to get through each day because I was not feeling well. So, in between knocking on doors, media interviews, and life’s other responsibilities, I was also undergoing treatment during the runoff that neither my staff, nor my campaign team, knew about. But I still wasn’t getting better. So, through months of doctor’s appointments, the weekend when early voting was starting for the November election, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. In those last few weeks of a grueling campaign year, while I was giving speeches at political rallies and working with constituents, I finally knew what was going on with my body. While I kept smiling for pictures on social media, at the forefront of my mind was the fact that not only did I have a large tumor in my colon, but it was bleeding.

Finding Strength in Faith and Lifestyle

The only thing I knew for sure that has sustained me through the entirety of my life is my relationship with Christ and trusting His sovereignty. I realized that the preventative health lifestyle that I talk about so much, the fact that I was still walking every day (even when I was tired and dizzy) and being vegan for the last 19 years, helped in the surgery process and as I’m still recovering. I had to reframe my understanding of my cancer, to realize that though I did not choose colon cancer, God entrusted me with it. If you are in your 40’s, please call and make an appointment with your doctor to schedule your colonoscopy. Colonoscopies save lives.