The Unshakeable Spirit of Cristina: Cancer, Entrepreneurship and Beyond

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Hey , everyone , and welcome to another episode of Mommy on a Mission podcast , the podcast that empowers Latina women and all women to reach their impossible goal , one dream at a time . And today I am very excited to have with me a very beautiful guest . Her name is Cristina Arroyo and she is a nurse , and you live in Florida , right ?

Oh well , cristina , thank you so much for joining us and it's so wonderful to have you on our podcast today . First of all , can you start by sharing a little bit more about yourself and your journey , as well as how you discovered our podcast through Janine Hernandez ?

Tell us a little bit about just you , about me , okay . Well , I'm originally from New York , so I'm a New York transplant here in Florida , like everybody else , just like everybody else . So I was born and raised in the Bronx . I moved to Florida so that I can go to . I wanted to come here for college . We had come down .

Like you know , when you're a kid they bring you to Disney World . They're like , oh , I wish I lived in Florida . So I came down , came here for nursing school and I was like I hate it , I want to go back home , I want to go back to New York . That didn't last very long . I did end up going back , but I ended up staying in Florida .

I'm a nurse practitioner . I have two master's degrees , one in nurse practitioner and the other one in nursing education . I own a business . I'm acting like I don't know anything about myself , my goodness .

You know you don't really hear too much about nurse entrepreneurs because when you hear a nurse you just think like hospital , working for a clinic or things like that . So I mentor . I have mentored , like this year alone , over 100 nurses on how to start their own IV Hydration business . I host seminars about four times a year .

I actually have one coming up in two weeks , so I'm excited about that . What else I love to eat ? I'm a huge foodie and Orlando was like , just name , the number one foodie place in the US . I'm like , oh amazing , I knew it was worth moving here . And then I'm also a big gym rat . I live in the gym . So obviously I have to .

If I'm going to be a foodie , I have to be a gym girl too .

Well , listen , christina , you know we talked a little bit beforehand and your story is truly , truly inspiring and I want to know a little bit more about that , if you can tell us a little bit more , because you mentioned that , as you're starting your business , you were battling with neuroendocrine cancer , stage four , and how that diagnosis changed your life and

perspective . So talk to us a little bit about that .

But , on the contrary , I love talking about it because it's one of those things that I think needs a lot of awareness , a lot of education . Me being a healthcare provider , I knew nothing about , I never heard of neuroendocrine cancer until I was diagnosed with it .

So I was diagnosed in May 2018 , out of nowhere , out of the blue , I was having like heartburn , indigestion , and you know , again , I'm a foodie . So I'm like , oh , it's probably all the hot , spicy foods that I eat , no big deal . I would go to the doctor and they would say , take Tom's , say , pepto-bismol , here's Pepsi .

And I'm like , okay , I would take those things . But I knew that like it wasn't , it wasn't normal the symptoms that I was having . So I remember it was actually a nurse practitioner that referred me to do an ultrasound and I never did it . I was like , I feel better , I'll just try to limit the spicy foods and limit the things that can trigger it .

So I never , I never did the test and she actually called me six months after giving me the order Saying hey , you know , I'm just following up to see if you ever did that ultrasound . And I thought that was so .

That was God who did that , because I know I'm a nurse practitioner and it's very rare that I call someone six months later and ask them if they did a test that I ordered six months prior . That just doesn't happen routinely . So that was definitely an intervention from God , without a doubt , and I ended up doing the ultrasound .

The ultrasound led to finding lesions on my liver that led to biopsies and I ended up seeing a liver specialist and he actually said to me . He said he was looking at like the images from the testing and he said you know what ? Let's follow up in a year . That was where his words .

But I knew you know , we have our insuition right when you're a patient , when you're on the other side , I tried not to think like a provider . I said you know , I'm a human at this point , I'm the patient .

And I remember when he said let's wait a year , he didn't say it with conviction , he said it like he was questioning himself and I said , okay , let me trust him . He's the specialist of the liver , I'm the patient .

When I went home that night it did not sit well with me and and I said he didn't sound very confident in in his decision to stay , wait a year . The next morning he called me at 8 in the morning because I guess he felt this . I knew what he was like , I knew that he was doubting himself .

So he actually calls me the next morning 8 am First thing and said you know , I gave it further thought and I would like to biopsy those little spots in your liver . So I just I knew something was off . So my point being advocate for yourself , always , always advocate for yourself . It doesn't matter how many degrees the person has , how many medical license .

Nobody knows your body or your intuition better than you . So be an advocate . So I have the biopsy and it was discovered that I had stage 4 neuroendocrine tumor . So it was found in my small intestine and it had spread to the liver .

So I he told me as I was on the phone Driving back to work from my lunch break and me being I'm not a very emotional person at all , anybody who knows me knows that I'm very like , solution driven , like okay , what is the next step ? What do we need to do ? I did not dwell on the emotional side of it at all . I'm like I need the facts .

I started like researching my previous medical records and requesting records because I'm like stage 4 , like how could we have missed stages once through ? You know one , two and three . So I became a detective . I became an expert in neuroendocrine and my own body .

Long story short , you know I started chemotherapy injections and I was actually getting ready to compete in a bikini bodybuilding show .

It's funny because my trophies are right behind the screen as I'm talking to you , so I'm looking at them and it's bringing me back to those days when I would go to chemo , go to the gym and I was training and doing all of these things while receiving treatment .

And I always say and joke , like having this diagnosis is probably like the best thing that ever happened to me , because Prior to that , I was very shy , so didn't really come out of my shell , wasn't really willing to try new things very to myself , and Having that diagnosis really allowed me to come out of my shell .

I'm not the same person that I was in 2018 , without a doubt . I'm outspoken , I talk , I don't stop talking . You know , I was competing in bodybuilding shows like wearing I would never wear a bikini on a stage in front of people , like that was not gonna happen . But you know , having this challenge , it really . I really felt like it was the God-given gift .

In addition to that , I started receiving like IV infusions I you know . So then COVID happened . What was that ? 2020 around there , more or less 920 , yeah , around 2020 and the my employer at the time . Actually , they said because you receive chemotherapy , we don't want you to get sick , so we're cutting your hours At work .

So that was the To cut my hours because I was quote unquote sick , but I was not sick . You know , I don't identify myself as a sick person . Yeah , he's actually very help , probably more healthy than most people . So when they cut my hours , I was like , okay , well , what do I do now ?

I said this is the perfect time for me to start a business and I had zappled into a couple of things . I had looked into legal nursing , like legal nurse consulting , and being in a consultant for medical cases . But I was like , yeah , that sounds kind of boring . I don't want to be like reading through case files and what have you .

And then I started receiving these IV hydration drips . I was like , oh my god , these make you feel amazing . They give you such great energy there . I was really into wellness and then , at that time , covid was going on . So , like everybody was into wellness at that time , I make that . And how old were you at this time ? Cuz you're very good .

Yes , so in 2018 , when I was diagnosed , I was 31 Even my diagnosis at 31 years old . And then two years later , I started my business . During COVID , you know , I had a lot of free time because the gyms were closed . I wasn't going to the gym or anything , so I would like lock myself in my room .

I didn't know anything about what a business plan was Market nothing , cuz I'm a nurse . I know how to save lives . That's all I know how to do . So I like dove into it hardcore . I was googling how to do a business plan how do I do this , how do I do that ?

So I really am I I kind of feel like I'm a self-taught entrepreneur and I don't really think that there's the right way to do any of it . You kind of just figure it out as you go . There's still a lot of things that I don't know , that I'm constantly trying to figure out . So I started my business from my car .

Yeah , I was doing mobile services , so concierge ID , hydration , going to people's homes , strangers' homes , not knowing what I was getting myself into , had no idea what I was doing as far as , like , the logistics of things . Obviously I knew what I was doing as far as the services , but as far as the logistics I had no idea .

I was like I'm going to figure this out as I go . And my car kept breaking down . I would go to somebody's house , do an IV , come out my car was dead . I'm like , hey , it's me again . Can you help me jumpstart my car so I can go to the next client ?

And it was like that for weeks and then that it was like that from weeks to months and then it was to the point that I would leave my car running in people's homes in neighborhoods that I had no idea . I'd leave my car running , go inside , do the service and like , pray to God that my car was still there when I would come out . It was wild , yeah .

So then I was lucky enough to meet a friend who introduced me to a woman who owns a spot here in Orlando and we became such great friends and I rent a room out of her spa so I run my business inside of her location and it's been a blessing . I've been there for three years now .

We have a really wonderful relationship because she's also into like holistic stuff . They do a lot of skincare , aesthetic services and we combine that with my IV hydration and the aesthetics and the bulltox and the filler so it works really well .

And so while I do that , I still have my foot in the clinic , I'm still working at the clinic , I'm teaching at the college , I'm teaching the nurses . So I'm a busy , busy , busy bee .

Is that right ?

Like the feeling is like you know , why am I even going to start something ? Why am I even going to do anything ? You know , I'm just whatever , it is what it is and that's it . But you , on the other hand , were like no , you know , if I'm just going to do it , I'm just going to do it .

Let the road take me where it takes me , but I'm going to do this not only for myself but for others . Because you also mentioned that you also mentor other nurses to start their own IV hydration businesses . Is that right ?

So what motivated you to take on that role as a mentor , and what advice do you usually give to those who aspire to follow a similar path in you ?

So I have friends that own IV businesses in North Carolina , south Carolina , different parts of Florida , what have you and we all kind of like were under the mentorship of someone who was teaching these classes and we're like , well , we can teach our own classes too . So I just I said , let me try it . You know , I tried it out .

My very first class only had six nurses in it , six students , and from there I've done I think seven , I think I'm at number seven or eight now . I honestly lost track and the classes doubled and tripled and we're selling out and we're selling out . I'm like , oh my God , okay , there is the need .

This tells me that nurses are not status , they don't have job satisfaction . You know , they're not feeling fulfilled in their job and especially during that COVID time where nurses , if they were overworked before , they were like extra burnt out now . So so now you know I'm still doing the classes .

I actually cut down on the size because I was honestly very overwhelmed having a class of 25 , 30 people . That was very overwhelming for me . I'm like I need a team , I need help Like ah , so now my classes are , I downsize them and you know , just to create a more like one-on-one personal , intimate setting .

So advice that I would give for a nurse who was interested in doing this just don't you don't have to be the traditional nurse that works 12 hours just at the hospital . I'm totally against anything traditional . I don't have a traditional type of person , so , and you don't have to be .

You know , when you are in nursing school they're always like oh , you know , you work in the hospital and you have to save and , honestly , you don't . You don't have to do anything that you do not want to do . If you don't like the situation that you are in , you have every right . You have the power .

There are tools out there for you to create the type of work environment that you desire to have . You don't have to stay in this box . That's the whole thing with me is that I , you know I can't have a boss . I don't like nobody telling me what to do . I just , I just don't like to be micromanaged at all .

So this is perfect for me because I don't have to worry about being micromanaged . I work when I want to . I do what I run it how I see best for me , and it allows me flexibility to still work at the clinic , to maintain my clinical skills and to teach at the college and to pursue any other things that I may want to do .

So for me it's all about that flexibility with my time . It's not even about the money , it's about the just coming out the box and doing what I want to do honestly .

Actually she was thinking about Chick-fil-A because that was like okay , you know , I want to invest in Chick-fil-A . And she said she made it up to the third round and which is good , I guess . But the problem with that was they wanted her to go to California because that's where they wanted to establish the business .

And she was like no , I don't want , I'm from Texas , I want to stay here , you know . So then she started looking into IV hydration and she says that was like the best decision you know that she ever made and so she has her business .

And then she ended up , I think , going into like pharmaceuticals , like she's traveling all over the place doing pharmaceuticals and she goes . And I would have never thought that as a nurse , because I think sometimes even in that industry , in that field , many nurses or people in the medical field don't think outside of Exactly that clinics or hospital setting .

You know it's like nurse , yes , you know like that's ideally where you would end up , right , but there's like so many avenues that you can go into with your nursing degree and it's like wow , why didn't anybody ever tell me this , you know , and so that's good , and that's good that you're doing that , because now you're letting them know .

Hey , you know , because of this , you know , I was able to learn about other things that I can do and now I can like mentor the people or educate other women or people in general nurses , men , women , whatever to talk to them about thinking outside of that box , just like you did .

And so because of that , you were mentioning how you know you've been able to come out of your comfort level and just really go out there , because dealing with cancer at such a young age is undoubtedly a significant change , a challenge , I'm sure , and you know .

But could you share in some of the ways in which your diagnosis pushed you to step outside of the box ? I know that out of the comfort zone , because I know that you said , both professionally and personally , because you mentioned , you know , in a bikini work , announced stuff , but in what other ways we ?

But you already mentioned that you talked about your business , but I'm sure there's gotta be other things that are like Okay .

And then the other thing , like I told you , when I got the diagnosis , I was in my car , driving to work and my questions were like , what do I need to do ? But I never like grieve that or had that emotional response and I was like I don't know if that's normal , I don't , you know . I , you know .

So I did start going to therapy just to make sure that I wasn't like suppressing anything and making sure that I had whatever coping tools and tips I needed , should I encounter having that emotional response , reaction to it . And not only that .

I started therapy also because , like entrepreneurship was like completely something new for me and it's very , very , very , very challenging , as you know . And it's a lonely place because it's not like you have coworkers or anybody . You know I have a great , don't get me wrong .

I have an amazing group of friends , my best friends , who do what I do also , so we're constantly a support for each other .

But you know , when I at one point I was running my business full time and I didn't know what I was doing and I didn't know what to do with my time , because I was used to working a 12 hour shift and I have to do A through Z within those 12 hours and then when you're an entrepreneur , there's nobody telling you , hey , did you do this , did you do that

? So it was like a complete mental shift for me . And you know again , when you work a regular job , you know what your income is gonna be every two weeks . You know what your paycheck is gonna look like . In entrepreneurship you have no idea . It can be amazing one week , the next week , complete silence .

So you have to be very mentally equipped to handle the ups and downs and all of the different phases of entrepreneurship , because it is not for everyone , it is not easy , it is not for the week .

So you know , having the cancer did allow me to explore therapy , making sure my mental health was in check and just being very self-aware as well , and also my faith , you know , trusting in God and understanding that nobody has it easy . Nobody has given a silver platter . This is the platter that God gave me and I cannot ask him why did I do this ?

I've never done anything to anybody . I cannot do that because , you know , if God gave that to me , it is for a reason , and I realized that I'm realizing , because this journey is so ongoing , that he didn't do this for me . He did this for me , to help other people .

Like I went , I had my last session of radiation back in February . Like I posted my little , they gave me like a certificate and I took a picture with my radiation nurse . So like I shared I share those like milestones and stuff . But I live a really normal , like a very normal life . Like nobody would ever know unless I tell them .

But my life is so normal that sometimes even I forget . Honestly .

And so spreading awareness about neuroendocrine cancer and motivating others is one of your goals , and which is one of the reasons why you were like open to discuss it on the podcast . And so how have you been going about achieving this outside of social media , and what message would you like to convey to our listeners who may be facing their own challenge ?

But I feel like I should be doing a better job at it , honestly . So it's funny . You asked me earlier and I never answered , how I came about you and your podcast . I started writing a book a long time ago . She knows she's always like when are you going to finish ? When are you going to finish ?

And in that book I talk a lot about Net and my journey and I feel like when I accomplish that book that I've been working on for so many years , that is going to be my way of spreading awareness . I just I just need to sit down and do it . But you know I'm excuses , excuses , excuses . I have a million and one things going on .

But I know that I am destined to finish that book and I'm sure Janine's going to listen to this and text me like did you finish that book yet ?

I can't wait to have my hands on your book , to be able to read your story , because I know that right now , this is a condensed version of what you've gone through .

Right , just in talking about it and just even having the ability of you being able to come on here today and just talking about it , you're already starting that process of you know , making this awareness open and out there in public , you know , so that others can get more information about it and be able to cope with that .

And so I think that's very important . And I always say that our stories are not our stories , they're his stories for us to share and tell . So we have to go through things in our lives . Why is it us ? We don't know .

All we know is that God says you're the , you're going to be the soldier that's going to wear this armor and you're going to go out there and you're going to , you know , let the people know exactly what I have done for you and what I'm going to do for them , and to be able to share them and stuff and it's .

And he does not discriminate or he doesn't show for autism , right ?

I mean , he's like no , you know , I know who I'm going to use and I know why I'm using this purpose , right , and I commend you for just , you know , being out there and being , you know , brave , because it is bravery on your part to be able to share your story , because it's not easy , because , like I said , there could be many people that very young is

like , oh my God , I'm so young , why me ? But you , on the other hand , that's what's more courageous about your story is that you are still young , but yet you're doing the damn thing . You're going out there and you're doing it .

And so , christina , your story is one of resilience , one of strength and determination , and so , because I know that you've got family . But before we wrap up , is there anything else you would like to add or any final words of aspiration you would like to share with our audience today ?

If you want to open up , I don't know something that's not normal or whatever what is normal right . There's no such thing as normal . Just do what you want to do . That's probably I know that sounds like super , not , you know , fancy , but do what you want to do . Do what makes you happy , and who cares what anybody has to say ?

Who cares what anybody thinks ? And now , actually , this is the first time that I'm like publicly talking about that . I am writing a book , so now I feel like this is good , this is holding me accountable , and so , with that being said , my last advice for people is to share your story .

Don't be ashamed of the story that God gave you , don't be ashamed of the challenge that God gave you , and don't question the situation that God has put you in , because it is for a reason , and it is to help and serve other people . So never question the situation that you're given .

Like I said , I'm so grateful and thankful that you took the time . I know that we had to reschedule once before , but I'm just so glad that we were finally able to do this right , and I think sometimes the enemy would do things to keep us from sharing a story , but I was like , oh no , not today , you don't have us today .

We're going to make this happen .

So media , email , facebook , wherever you want , tiktok , I'm on all of those platforms .

If you or anyone you know can benefit from this message and you know that someone would like to learn a little bit more about it , please reach out to us .

I'll you know , we'll go ahead and put Grisina's link on the show notes and stuff , but I'm so thankful that you were able to spend this evening with me and I look forward once again to following up with you later on .

And then you're going to have to be a guest of mine when you have your book , because we're going to have to promote your book and talk about your book . Okay , so we'll see what a year does , yeah , so pressures on .

You can also find me at mommy on a missioncom . I hope you've enjoyed this new episode and if you did , it would mean the world to me If you would subscribe , share this podcast and leave me a review on Spotify and Apple podcast or wherever you listen to your podcast .

Tune in next week for some more words of motivation , inspiration and encouragement on mommy on a mission .