RIO RANCHO, NM — A New Mexico woman, who is battling breast cancer, has found a creative way to cope. Beth Pendergrass had her life turned upside down, but now she has found a way to inspire herself and others, too.
"From the moment I found the lump, within a month, I was in my first chemo treatment," Pendergrass told KOAT.
Pendergrass says she looked at ways she could stay positive during such a dark time. "People said, 'Keep a journal while you're going through all of this,'" said Pendergrass.
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With the help of her husband, her journal ended up becoming Instagram photos of her recreating famous movie images. From Mrs. Doubtfire to David Bowie, on Abbey Road or Thunder Road, Pendergrass had found her calling.
This process has allowed her to collect quite a number of wigs and other accessories as she works to recreate some of these more iconic photos and images.
While movies like 'Pulp Fiction' or 'The Shining' stand out, she says it's her vintage portrayal of Charlie Chaplin that she enjoyed the most.
What she didn't expect was how her story would help others. "I've had a number of people who reached out to me and have told me about how much my messages have meant to them," said Pendergrass.
While she says strangers from as far away as Australia have reached out to her, she says she was humbled by how she was able to help one particular friend. "They were calling her back in for some tests. She wasn't comfortable talking to her family about it yet. But she said, 'You know, thank you for giving. You know, making it so comfortable for me to talk to you about it and ask you questions,'" said Pendergrass.
Through all of this, she has found something no disease can ever take away. "If I can still smile at the end of the day, everything's going to be OK," said Pendergrass.
Pendergrass is still undergoing treatment, but she's optimistic because she says they caught the cancer early.