As a nurse, Delores Mullinnix had seen others face the challenges of breast cancer. Never did she imagine that cancer would become a challenge of her own.

"It was three years ago, June 19," she recalls. "I was scared to death."

A lumpectomy, a mastectomy, six months of chemotherapy, and six weeks of radiation therapy later, she thought the cancer was beaten from her system. Last September, a backache led to a bone scan that renewed old fears: the cancer had spread.

"I wasn't ready to die," she says, "and I'm still not."

Mullinnix continues to fight the disease with the help of cancer specialists at UI Hospitals and Clinics. Fighting alongside her are a devoted husband, family members, and a cadre of colleagues in the UI Family Care Center, where she works full-time.

"I consider all the people I work with friends," she says with a smile. "They've done so much to support me ... I really appreciate everything they do."

Mullinnix says her entire nursing career has been an invaluable companion. "It gives me a reason to get up in the morning, to not feel sorry for myself, to make my life more fulfilling."

It's a responsibility that also sometimes puts her into phone contact with others facing cancer for the first time. She's more than eager to talk, to console, to encourage.