Determined to Find Purpose

Using Her Cancer Journey to Help Others

At age 23, Grace DuBose was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Despite facing several grueling months of chemotherapy and radiation, she was determined to find purpose in this challenge.

“It was the weirdest thing because I remember I had no fear,” Grace recalled. “In that moment, I just knew I was meant to go through this and use my experience to help others.”

So nauseous that she could not even read books or watch TV, Grace turned to jewelry making. She soon realized that her jewelry could help women overcome one of the biggest challenges they face during cancer treatment, self-confidence.

“As I experienced changes in my appearance, making jewelry helped me feel beautiful,” Grace explained. Thus began her handmade jewelry company, Glam & Grace, which now sells earrings in retail stores across the state.

Also during her treatment, Grace wrote a book for children facing the same challenges she was enduring. The Missing Piece, now for sale on Amazon, tells the story of a little girl with cancer who lost her hair and dreams of being a princess.

As a way to give back, Grace donated a portion of the proceeds from both her jewelry sales and her book to the McLeod HOPE (Helping Oncology Patients Everyday) Fund through the McLeod Health Foundation.

Grace also soon began visiting McLeod Children’s Hospital to read The Missing Piece to pediatric patients.

“I wanted to go to the hospital dressed as a princess, when I still had no hair, to show them they could be a princess despite their medical challenges,” said Grace.

Now in remission, Grace continues her commitment to helping others along their cancer journeys.

“I see that kids are learning from the book,” Grace said with excitement. “I continue to receive messages from parents who have read the book and say it has helped them talk to their children about cancer or any other illness. Moments like those make it all worthwhile.”