The collection builds off a three-stone ring, the Nola Ring, that Hock-Lauwers created after Addante was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. After its initial, limited release, Hock-Lauwers gave the proceeds to Addante, who used the money to travel the country in an RV.
“She was an adventurer,” Hock-Lauwers says. “Even through all her treatments and all her illness, she would be going places and doing things. She truly was the epitome of living life to the fullest.”
Addante was a nurse and later worked as a nursing professor at Rockford University, in Illinois.
“She had a very caring nature,” says Ferenciak. She also had an artistic side: She played piano at home and organ at church.
Addante was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. She underwent a double mastectomy, but a year later, she learned the cancer had metastasized to her liver and bones. She was aggressive in seeking treatments, Ferenciak says.
“I had such hope that Nola was going to respond to the treatments,” Hock-Lauwers says. “She had such a will to fight.”
Addante died on July 2, 2022. She was 59 years old.
“She would post on Facebook all the time, and you would see her travels and all the fun things she was doing and how much she loved her family,” Hock-Lauwers says. “It’s quiet without her.”
After her mom’s death, Ferenciak, a marketing strategist, reached out to Metavivor to ask if she could contribute to the nonprofit’s social media. She’s helped promote its #LightUpMBC event, a fund-raising livestream held every October 13, which is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
Through Metavivor, Ferenciak has connected with others who have loved ones battling metastatic breast cancer. Recently, she attended a Metavivor event where she represented the Shimmer by Cindy MBC Collection. As people perused the jewelry display, they also shared their stories with her. “The jewelry brings hope to these people,” she says.
“If you’ve lost a loved one, I want people to know: Look for signs that they’re around, and do what you can to keep their memory alive,” she says. “It’s so important to do that for people you love. Whatever it is, find a way to do something you think they will look down on and appreciate.”
