Leona grew up in a small town in Indiana, and was interested in medicine from a young age. She went to medical school at Indiana University School of Medicine, and then completed both her internal medicine residency and medical oncology fellowship at the University of Arizona. She then joined the faculty of the University of Arizona, Arizona Cancer Center, where she specialized in the treatment of breast cancer and worked in breast cancer clinical trials. She then joined a private practice group in Tucson, Arizona to bring specialized breast cancer care to the community practice setting. She loved the practice of oncology, and was passionate about her 10+ year career helping women (and a few men) through breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. But she decided she needed to make a change in her own life, and retired to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 2015, in order to slow down and simplify life, hoping to take better care of herself, have more time for yoga, healthy eating, gardening and other activities. See our post “Our back story” to hear about the ironic turn of events that happened next!
Aside from her interest in yoga and breast cancer, Leona enjoys spending time with her husband, relaxing on the beach, exploring all of the beauty and charm in Mexico, loves all animals- especially cats, and looks forward to visits from her family.