SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – For Breast Cancer Awareness Month a local mom is sharing her story of survival and how she’s teamed up with a popular beauty brand to help other patients.

At the age of 39, Jessica Arend was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer after finding a lump during a self-exam in April 2019.

“I would go through the next several weeks preparing for chemo and surgeries and beating breast cancer,” Arend said. “I’m married and I’m a mom of three little boys and more than anything else in the world, I knew I needed to be here.”

All of her treatments, including 25 rounds of radiation and a double mastectomy on her 40th birthday, was done at Edith Sanford Breast Center in Sioux Falls.

“They have given me my life back, really,” Arend said. “On that day in April, things never would be the same for me again and Edith Sanford and their team was with me every single step of the way.”

Arend has been cancer free since March of 2020, and now she’s a spokesperson for a popular beauty brand that’s raising money for breast cancer research.

“So, we’ve worked with Makeup Eraser since 2014 and slowly we’ve just built that partnership up and now we have our own breast cancer awareness eraser,” Leah Johannsen, senior development officer at the Sanford Health Foundation, said.

Ten percent of the proceeds from that product will go toward research at Edith Sanford.

“At Edith, 100 percent of every dollar that’s raised goes directly towards patient care and research and there aren’t very many foundations that can say that,” Johannsen said. “So that’s one reason that the owner and CEO of Makeup Eraser chose Edith and continues to work with Edith.”

“Whether it’s through making a donation or purchasing a Makeup Eraser, where a portion of those donations go back to them, I’m just more than happy to help,” Arend said. “They, again, they’ve saved my life and I would do anything for them.”