Despite Cancer, Fort Bliss Ranger Motivates Others with Message of Empowerment
El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV) - Janina Simmons says she was never really a big dreamer. " I didn't take anything seriously, I was very go home, chill out, and do nothing, I had zero ambitions for anything."
She grew up in Germany. She and her sister were raised by her mother, who struggled with mental health. Her father was in her life, but traveled because of the military. At the age of sixteen, she moved to Colorado with her dad, a former drill sergeant. Simmons says she faced a new challenge, being one of the few black kids. "I was going through the motions, you're a human being on earth, just go through the motions," Simmons said.
She found new hope when she joined the U.S. Military. She’s traveled to Qatar, Kuwait, Japan, and served at Fort Bliss, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Simmons said, "What the Army did for me was give me something to strive for." She didn't set out to make history, but she did; she became the first black female Army Ranger. "When you do something crass like that, I'm not sure that your wants to make history will get you through something as hard as that," Simmons said.
According to army.mil women began graduating from the U.S. Army's Ranger School in August 2015. Simmons became the first black woman to complete it in 2019. The U.S. Army website states that Ranger School is one of the Army's most physically and mentally demanding leadership courses. "I think about my grandma, who was picking cotton in the field. It's cool to know where we came from, and now I am the first woman to make history,” she stated. "I want to show people that we are limited to your color, your gender, there are no limitations, there's just none. But one of her life's toughest battles wasn't in a combat zone. She said, "I had these lumps on my groin about the size of a grape." Those lumps turned out to be a diagnosis of stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer.
Doctor Alex Flaris with the Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso says it's a rare form of cancer that arises from cells that receive signals from nerves and release hormones. "A lot of patients don't even realize there's a problem, just vague pain, which you become accustomed to." According to the Cleveland Clinic, slow-growing tumors caught early can be surgically removed or treated with hormone inhibitors. Later-stage and rapidly growing tumors require more aggressive treatment. " I have to get monthly injections; it doesn't kill the cancer, but it contains it," Simmons stated.
Her doctor told her she has about four years left to live, but she says she feels like she could live 10.
In her free time, she's also a marathon runner. That helps her stay focused and keep a clear mind.
Although she is facing this off the battlefield, she has a strong support system, her family and friends. And now she's making the most out of her time. Simmons is documenting her journey through a book. She hopes it will inspire people to find the light in the darkness and to keep moving forward despite the challenges. She says life is all about your mindset. "The most gratifying feeling you will have is after a time of turbulence. When you're going through whatever, there's a rainbow at the end, you just have to make it there." Janina tells me that her book, Draw Four, will be out in a few months. She hopes it can help people understand that life is real: it will beat you down, but you have to keep moving, and success is at the end.
