Healing Heels helping women walk tall through cancer

CHICAGO, Ill. - Women undergoing chemotherapy are getting some help along their journey -- And it all started with two friends and one pair of shoes.

When Lauren Truelock was diagnosed with breast cancer at 26, her friend, Sidne Hirsch, gave her a gift. 

“So I opened it up, and it’s this pair of crazy spiky shoes, and I immediately busted out laughing. It took my mind completely off what was going on, and it was such an awesome distraction,” Truelock told FOX 32. 

They became her special shoes to help kick cancer’s butt, and she wore the heels to every chemo treatment until she finished in 2012. Hirsch and Truelock realized they were onto something, and Healing Heels was born. The organization has become a nationwide movement that has given shoes, just like Lauren’s, to help other women walk tall throughout their fight against cancer.

The heels are a symbol of hope and strength. Whether they’re just beginning chemo, or are an original “sole sister” like Rosa Bino, who received them years ago after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“I put them on, and it kind of reminded me that I am a woman because when you get diagnosed with cancer...you kind of forget. I put them on, and it kind of reminded me that I am a woman because when you get diagnosed with cancer...you kind of forget,” she said.

Watch the video to see the “heeling” power.