Jennifer Rice began her last semester of college a little different than most students.

The day before classes started, the University of New Mexico student had surgery to remove cancerous lumps in her breast.

Rice, 22, had learned earlier she had breast cancer, but she remained dedicated to completing her studies in spite of her physical hurdles.

Her dedication paid off. Rice is one of about 1,500 students graduating today from UNM. She will earn her bachelor's degree in emergency medical service, and eventually plans to become a paramedic.

"I wanted everybody to see something like this doesn't have to control you deep down," she said.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 178,480 women in the United States have breast cancer, and about 40,460 will die from the disease this year. One out of eight invasive breast cancer cases are among women younger than 45.

Rice's dedication and optimism, despite her setbacks, have been an inspiration, say friends and faculty at UNM.

"I always knew she was a really strong person, but I think this showed me even more," said Meg Griego, a friend of Rice's from Valley High School and UNM. "She showed me no matter how bad things are, there's always a way to get through it."

When Rice got the diagnosis of breast cancer in June, she didn't withhold the information with family and friends.

Rick Lynn, senior educator at UNM's Emergency Medical Services Academy at the University of New Mexico, said Rice was candid about her illness but didn't dwell on it. She maintained her desire to learn, he said.

In fact, Rice offered to help Lynn teach an EMT class. She didn't let her cancer get her down, he said, and didn't take time off because she was sick.

"She was here no matter what the situation," Lynn said.

Rice said her cancer is in remission, meaning there are no cancer cells in her body. But as with any cancer in remission, the fear lingers that it might return.

Shelly McLaughlin, emergency medical services coordinator at UNM, said Rice always made light of her situation, even through difficult times.

She joked about her appearance and how she finally has an excuse to get breast implants, McLaughlin said.

Griego said school has helped her friend keep her mind off her situation.

"She was incredibly dedicated," Griego said. "The amount of homework she had all week, she got it all done."

Rice said she often stayed up until midnight or later doing homework. As a result, she was often fatigued in classes because of the radiation treatment. She also had to take an oral form of chemotherapy.

In addition to finishing her senior year, Rice worked part-time as a nanny and wrote a blog on MySpace about her experience as a young woman dealing with breast cancer.

There wasn't a lot of information for women her age with breast cancer, so she decided to talk about her personal struggles, she said.

"In a lot of people's mind they hear cancer and they think of death," she said. "I think the scariest was thinking about dying or how far along the cancer was."

She said even though she is dedicated to school, "There were days when I felt like giving up. There were days that I had worse days than others. There were days I wanted to call it quits and say, 'That's enough, I'm done.' I was lucky enough to have people around me to keep me focused."

Lynn said Rice has proven she can persevere through anything, which will make her a success when she joins the work force.

"She is stern enough to be a good medic," he said. "She has enough patience not to quickly burn out."

Rice said while she eventually wants to enter that field, now she wants a break. She might look for work in other fields she got interested in during college, such as microbiology.

She also said she'd like to continue her education.

With a rough semester behind her, Rice said she is proud of graduating from UNM.

"The fact that I did it in general is a huge deal," she said. "The fact that I accomplished everything this semester, it gets to me. It's emotional," she said.