Breast cancer stalked every woman in her family. She was determined it wouldn't get her
LOS ANGELES - Alejandra Campoverdi forged a path for herself that some only dream of, turning humble beginnings into a life of poise and power.
She had been that perfect student who made it to the University of Southern California and then Harvard against all odds. She turned a volunteer position with then-Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign into a post at the White House.
She added high-profile media jobs with Univision and the Los Angeles Times to her resume and made a mighty but unsuccessful run for Congress. In campaign materials, Campoverdi was a natural, flashing a smile with her head held high, her silky brown hair primped just right.
She did all this despite the disadvantages she faced having been the daughter of immigrants, raised on welfare. But something was looming in Campoverdi's life, in her blood, that had the power to take all of that away.
Breast cancer was attacking every woman in her life.
The disease stole her great-grandmother Maria Elena Uribe when she was in her 70s. It came after her grandmother in her 60s and then her mother at age 49. One aunt survived cancer a
