COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — For Laurel Komarny, the breast cancer diagnosis she received in January of 2021 still hasn't completely settled in, but the fear that came with it is something she'll never forget.

"I was terrified. It was a very surreal moment. My father passed away from lung cancer when he was 61 years old and I had lost a very dear friend to breast cancer, so I think those two losses really framed my reaction in that immediate moment," Komarny said.

At 49, the Colorado Springs mom was active and relatively healthy

"I had about 48 hours where I was in sort of a panic mode," Komarny said. "Then I went into, 'OK, what can I do? What's my role in this?' That's where I kind of dug in and started my work."

That work included reinventing herself and it started with her diet and mindset.

"I think it was important for me to take control of things I could take control of, and that was my diet and my mental state. So that for me started with meditation," Komarny said. "I started to research a bunch of books around the things you should and shouldn't do when you have cancer. It became very clear that diet is huge... Things like cutting out wine every day and fried foods, so I kind of started there."

Science backs it too. The American Cancer Research Institute has 10 recommendations for preventing cancer and nearly all have to do with diet and exercise. It recommends cutting out sugars, fast and processed foods, and alcohol.

"The combination of the diet and learning to meditate, my whole being changed. Anxiety that I had suffered from for years was slowly going away. Pounds that I had gained in middle age that you just attribute to middle age had also started to fall off and even just aches and pains that existed prior to the diagnosis had also remedied themselves," Komarny said.

Today, Komarny is cancer-free. She's climbed three 14ers and in July, she celebrated another big milestone — her 50th birthday.

"I think the combination of changing my diet and changing my physical being, losing weight and not having those health issues anymore, and then the mental aspect, has been huge," Komarny said.

This story was originally published by Molly Hendrickson at KMGH.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who like animals and those who love them. Julianne Butler is definitely the latter.

When she stumbled upon Colorado Pet Pantry eight years ago, it was a natural fit for her to volunteer.

"I love pets, but going and volunteering at like a shelter or something like that — I was too afraid I’d come home with too many all the time. So this was a way for me to give back and help those people that have pets," Butler said.

The nonprofit helps financially strapped families with food and pet supplies so they aren't forced to make the heartbreaking decision to surrender their pets. Butler was the first volunteer to sign up for the nonprofit.

"She volunteered with us for about four months and she said, 'Hey, I’d really like to do this in my own community,' which is near Jewish Family service in southeast Denver," said Colorado Pet Pantry Founder Eileen Lambert. "I said, let’s do it."

Each week, Butler makes the rounds to places like Chuck and Don's Pet Food & Supplies to pick up food, leashes and donations. For people struggling to get by, those donations mean everything.

"I see people — they would come to the food bank and they would cry because they were struggling so much to feed their pets and we’re handing them really good bags of food and toys and collars or leashes or beds," Butler said.

Today, Colorado Pet Pantry has 102 food bank locations statewide. Last year, it provided families with 5.1 million meals thanks to everyday heroes like Butler.

"Our volunteers are the ones that are out there doing the food banks, talking to our clients, creating these relationships, spreading the good word, and they’re the ones that do so much of the legwork to make this all happen," Lambert said.

For more information on Colorado Pet Pantry or to make a donation, click here.

This story was originally published by Molly Hendrickson at KMGH.