Women are indeed powerful, and a true testament to that is a woman named Elizabeth Martinez, who managed to battle cancer and survived it despite her rough situation. Things weren’t so rough for Elizabeth when she started out. In fact, they were terrific. She was a successful nail artist for the past eight years, working with the industry’s greatest talents, such as Marian Newman and Colorado designer Crystal Lee.
She was accepted to the Nails Mastered course with Marian Newman in 2015, and shortly after, she collaborated with Crystal Lee for various fashion events. She did the nail looks for C.R. Lee at Massif Fashion Week and for New York Fashion Week in September 2017 and once again in New York Fashion Week in February 2019.
She was always passionate about her career, though she had some grievances on whether to stay at her own shop or be mobile. She owned a salon in Wheat Ridge Colorado, which became number 7 out of 109 salons on Denver’s A-List, Manicure and Pedicure category. During this time, she was still doing nails for photoshoots with C.R. Lee Designs and Overtone hair color products.
In October of last year, Elizabeth was published for a 303 magazine shoot. She was at the top of her game, and she was only getting bigger and bigger in the nail industry. Eventually, she realized that after almost two years of owning her salon, she needed to choose between being on location or being mobile. She chose the latter and proceeded with the selling of her salon. She was incredibly happy with her decision, and she often looks back at the wonderful times when she would get satisfied customers that would show her the utmost appreciation for the great work and service that she has provided them with.
Though things seemed pretty good for Elizabeth, tragedy struck without a moment’s notice, and she was diagnosed with stage 3C malignant melanoma after having a mole removed on the left side of her breast. She didn’t know how to deal with her cancer, let alone the news of her diagnosis. She felt lost at the time. Yet she was very fortunate to have a solid support system to help her through the entire process. Elizabeth had always been a strong woman, and her battle with cancer only proves how strong she really is.
After a year-long chemotherapy treatment, she finally beat cancer on June 6, 2020. So much has happened to Elizabeth at 36 years old. She has definitely become smarter and wiser throughout all her experiences. And because of all those events, she finally realized what she really wanted to pursue in the long-term.
She now has two children: Jesse, who is turning 16 on September 11, and Julianna, who just turned 9. Much like their mother, strength is in their blood. They can get through anything and make the best of it no matter the situation. Elizabeth wants her children to surpass whatever she does in life. With her second chance at life, she is going to do everything she can, giving her kids a run for their money.
She recalls that she had always wanted to be in media and journalism, but she never really got the chance to pursue it. Elizabeth felt extremely determined to reach for her newfound goal, and as soon as her body got used to the medicine, she went straight to Colorado Media School and registered for their media and broadcasting program in October 2019.
Elizabeth graduated in May of 2020 and has been planning on taking full advantage of her new career. She accepted a co-host position on Cannasseur Radio. She is Lady Cannasseur, and her co-hosts are The White Wolf, and Young Fait. They play Cannabis radio and local music Wednesdays from 2 to 4 mountain standard time and Friday’s from 5 to 7 PM on 92.9, CannaFactory.
She also plans on inspiring other women by establishing a women’s organization, which will be the first of its kind. The goal of the organization is to “Inspire, Connect, and Create.” With her story filled with ups and downs, Elizabeth hopes to inspire women from all over the world to believe in themselves and their own capabilities. If she can fight whatever stands in her way, then other women surely can.
To get more information on Elizabeth Martinez and everything she does, check out her website.
Opinions expressed by NY Weekly contributors are their own.
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