A Westchester breast cancer survivor was able to overcome her diagnosis and fulfill her dream of becoming a bakery owner.

Carolina Figueiredo's passion is bringing her Brazilian culture to Westchester one cheese bread and pastry at a time.

She’s the owner of Boleria Brazilian Bakery in Mamaroneck, which offers many unique flavors.

"Sometimes we use...an American recipe and put a Brazilian twist on it,” Figueiredo says.

However, baking used to only be a fun pastime for Figueiredo. She worked at CitiBank for nearly 15 years until 2015, when she had an annual doctor’s visit that changed her life.

"She suggested that I get a mammogram. It was the first time and I said, `Why not,’” Figueiredo says. “But they saw something, and then with further exams, I was diagnosed with breast cancer."

Figueiredo’s cancer was invasive and required months of chemo and radiation therapy.

"That's really when I thought about doing something different,” she says.

Figueiredo decided to do what made her happy and started baking professionally.

She attended culinary school in London and Manhattan before setting up her shop in 2020.

"Sometimes bad things happen, but if you learn from that and if you use this in a good way I'd say...it's going to change your life for the better actually," she said.