Meet the St. Paul woman who wants to help Latine families navigate cancer care

For the past 24 years, Mari Avaloz has dedicated her life to education, leading the TRIO Upward Bound program at St. Olaf College in Northfield, which helps prepare high school students for success in college.

Then, Avaloz’s sister was stricken with a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer in December 2018 and was given only a few months to live. Avaloz became her sister’s caregiver. One day, after breaking into sobs while talking to a friend at St. Olaf, the friend referred Avaloz to Colleen’s Dream Foundation in Arizona. The foundation supports research, clinical trials and hope. Avaloz’s sister was enrolled in a clinical trial. She died in September 2019, nine months after doctors said she had three months to live.

Avaloz, who uses the gender-neutral term Latine, now wants to do the same kind of work. She wants to help Latine families connect with treatment and a network to help them navigate the daunting reality of a cancer diagnosis. A 2024 Bush Foundation fellow, Avaloz will spend the next two years making her vision real. Eye On St. Paul recently met with Avaloz to learn more about her hopes and plans. This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Q: Tell me about this idea for a cancer support center.

A: So much of my work until now has been focused on educational equity. I really want to move my focus to health care equity. So I am taking some time off so I can focus on making those connections and building up my own leadership so that I can open a center.

When we were there [in Arizona], the Colleen’s Dream people were so wonderful to us. We stayed in their houses — we didn’t pay rent. My sister had great insurance and we were able to navigate that. But she also had access to things that she [might not]. I remember when the doctor said she’s going to pass, we wanted to take her home. The doctor said “No.” Colleen’s Dream got involved ... and she was on a flight that night.

I felt like a celebrity, like we had this wonderful treatment and access. And I remember thinking how sad I was that other people didn’t have access. And so that’s what I wrote on my [Bush] application, about giving Latine people access to these wonderful things that can give you hope.

Q: What is your goal over the next two years?

A: My goal is to open a center, to get it off the floor in a couple years. One of the biggest struggles with me and my work in this community is I don’t speak very good Spanish. And so I leave August 16 to go to Mexico for a Spanish immersion program. That’s what I need in order to best serve the community. I need to meet them where they’re at. Growing up, we didn’t speak it. My brother has autism. The doctors at that time told my parents to pick one language. And so they picked English because my dad was learning English.

What I really want the center to focus on is anyone going through this experience. The patient, the survivor, and the caregivers. I think that with Latine families, family is more than just your mom and your dad. It’s your community.

People say, “What do you think [the center] looks like?” And I have all these things in my head. I think a lot of it is outsourced, because there are a lot of agencies doing really good work in health care. We can also bring awareness, you know?

We’re not a one size fits all. There’s no one size fits all.

Q: Is your center a physical place?

A: I do want a physical place. One of my goals is to figure out scholarships, funding so that people can get what we had: Like being able to live in Arizona in a place and care for my sister. That’s huge. We were able to do that. But what if you can’t afford that? I think there are a lot of people out there that want to help.

Q: As you’re starting to build this, how do you fund it?

A: So, one of my first things when I get back from Mexico is there is a cancer support agency in California. It’s called Latinas Contra Cancer. And the work they’re doing is very similar — interpreting medical bills, counseling, that sort of thing. So I want to go out there. And Colleen’s Dream, I’ve already connected with them and I want to go out to Arizona and talk to them. How did they begin building their foundation that now is funding clinical trials? Where did they meet their stakeholders? There are also county resources I could maybe tap into.

That’s what I envision. I also have a social work background, so I want to get my my license so that I can also then oversee other licensed social workers working at the center so we can provide social services in-house.