Roxanne Shante is an icon in her community.

She rose up from the projects in Queens to become a hip-hop pioneer in the "80s and was later a breast cancer survivor.

But now, she says, the culture that helped her succeed has left her with a new health battle.

"I come from a culture that actually nicknamed it sugar and it "s not because it "s a sweet disease at all," she says.

Earlier this year, Roxanne was diagnosed with diabetes. The love and pudding that had helped her through her struggle with breast cancer suddenly became a serious and potentially deadly risk.

"Everyone thinks that giving me something sweet is making me feel better, which it did. But then its also killing me," she says. "I "ve never had a moment where there wasn "t something I was up against. And here goes another thing to be up against. I was told that you need to truly, truly watch your diet if you still want to be here."

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