When the winds of life’s storms bear down, we reach deep within to discover strengths that we may never have known we had. In many cases, we are bolstered by our faith and by our continuing mission to help others as well. That’s the story of the type of resilience that Candi Troia, a REALTOR® with Nebraska Realty, brings to the world around her … leading by example and rising above the hurdles that have arisen through time.

 

We first featured Candi five years ago. At that time, she was in the midst of a fight against cancer.

 

“It was 13 years ago when I was given the diagnosis. I was given a year to live by two different oncologists,” Candi recalls. “I consider myself lucky that I went well beyond that. In fact, I feel great. I’m in a better place today than I was five years ago.”

 

During her original diagnosis, it didn’t take long for Candi to realize she needed to explore different answers.

 

“I didn’t like the situation I was in. I started asking questions. I said, ‘What do I do? I don’t know anything about cancer.’ That’s when Mike Money said, ‘Go to MD Anderson in Houston. They saved my dad’s life.’ It turns out I was on the wrong kind of medication because they had never tested my mutation,” Candi says. “I was on the wrong chemo, and I had already had too much radiation, and I couldn’t drink anything with carbonation or beer because the radiation had fried my esophagus.”

 

Candi picked up her records and went to a new doctor that her contacts at MD Anderson had suggested. Over time, she was put on Tarceva, a cancer medication that effectively fought her condition for eight years, when the average effectiveness for the drug was two years.

 

Today, Candi splits her time between Gilbert, Arizona, and Omaha, and is undergoing treatment.  

 

The past few years since we talked with Candi haven’t passed without additional challenges. In fact, like many, Candi had done what she thought was prudent … getting the vaccination against COVID-19. “The shot almost killed me,” she remembers. “I had reactions to both shots that were part of the vaccination process.”

 

She worked through those health threats, as well, and has kept moving forward. In fact, she has taken great advantage of her social media.

 

“Things have been great with business. It has continued to pick up. I talk about what I do in real estate on Facebook,” she says. With an extensive network of over 4,600 Facebook friends, Candi has undeniably experienced the platform's significant role in spreading the word.

 

The trials that Candi has been through have tested her, including the brain surgery she had on Friday, June 14, 2019. Yet, she was able to get up and out of the hospital by the following Monday to list a house that night and sell it by that Wednesday.

 

There have been remarkable moments that defy conventional explanation.

 

“At Mayo Clinic, they did an MRI, but it didn’t have contrast, so I had to go back to have it done at Omaha with contrast,” she remembers. “So I went back and had the MRI done, and the doctor said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on. But there are no tumors.’”

 

Candi has a very good idea what the answer was. “I had so many people praying for me. When the doctor told me that he didn’t see the tumors, my daughter-in-law and I just looked at each other and smiled,” she says. “It’s been years since they had given me a year to live. I’ve had talks with a couple of the doctors about the power of positivity. The power of prayer is absolutely amazing. I’m here today because of that.”

 

Candi’s world is enriched by the members of her family, including her daughter, Jenni, and her husband, Brett; and Candi’s son, Joe, and his wife, Jill. She also treasures time with her grandchildren, who consist of six girls and one boy.

 

In her free time, Candi has a passion for going fishing with her grandson, Ryker. Another favorite activity this year has been attending many of her grandson's baseball games.

 

Over the past five years, the Real Producers community has been blessed to have Candi as an active part.

 

“I’m really excited for the real estate agents in the community who have benefitted from Real Producers. It has done so much for so many. People are getting their name out there. It’s overwhelming,” she says.

“I go to all of the events, and I absolutely love them. I have even come back from Phoenix to attend some of them.”

 

In the face of life's unpredictable storms, leaders like Candi Troia embody an unwavering spirit of resilience that knows no bounds.

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