Fanautical: A story of inspiration

CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) - How about this scenario, you just had a baby and the doctor tells you that you have a rare bone cancer and you may not survive. What do you do?

One local woman with faith and support moved forward and never looked back.

Fanautical -- it's a word that combines "nautical and fanatic" and it was coined by a Cumberland woman who has a passion for the aquatic. It's also the name of her store in Patriot Place, a business that inspired June Wooding to move forward despite some devastating news.

"I had a rare form of bone cancer and it was very aggressive actually the tumor doubles in size every month," said June. "They put me on the most aggressive chemo, what they determined quote un-quote, the most aggressive that they give any human being."

June credits a little yellow cartoon fish she named "Louie" as her inspiration.

She said, "he’s an off set of me and he was living in his own little world under the sea watching everybody else live there life. He thought he was happy but really but watching other people he said I need to live and find my passion."

It’s a passion that she turned into a successful clothing store with the help of the Kraft family and Patriot Place.

"The Kraft organization had called me and said you know we've been looking for someone for the past two to three years locally who has a really great idea and we want to help them foster their business."

Many people when given this news would have given up, but not June.

"When you go through an illness like I did you sort of learn a thing or two and you can't help it. You go through a process of re-thinking about how you lived your life."

Even her doctors have been amazed with her progress.

"Well they call it basically that I’m defying medical records, they talk about me during seminars and they forward a lot of folks to me to talk to and to help."

June said it's her family that keeps her going.

"It’s my kids. I have a 12 year old and a seven year old, and my family and husband, my mom and my close knit family."

The ultimate success story for June would be to inspire others.

"It is about trying to touch people in that way to make them think well maybe I should, why do I have to go through what she went through in order for me to find my passion and that's what I’m hoping that I will touch some people in that way so they can be motivated and inspired."

June has been cancer free for two years and continues to look to the future of her new business with the help of family and her cartoon fish Louie.