"I tell women that it's not all about the outer appearance but to be happy with oneself."
Credit: People
Last August, knowing radiation treatment would make her hair fall out, Meechy Monroe did something radical: She had a barber come to her house and shave it all off, leaving her totally bald.
"I cried," Monroe, 29, tells PEOPLE. "It was very difficult because my hair was so much a part of my personality."
Monroe's hair – natural and gloriously curly – was also her identity and her livelihood. A popular beauty blogger whose YouTube videos have gotten 2.5 million views, Monroe has gained a devoted following among African-American women, whom she encourages to celebrate their natural hair with natural, elegant styles.
After being diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer last year, Monroe has documented her journey on her blog – and inspired women with her resilience, humor and infectious optimism.
"I tell women that it's not all about the outer appearance but to be happy with oneself," Monroe says. "I've learned that beauty isn't just hair and makeup – it goes much deeper."
Sudden Success
Born Tameka Moore, one of four girls in a tight-knit Chicago family, Monroe chemically straightened her hair in her teens and early 20s. Finally, in 2009, tired of bad haircuts and chemically damaged hair, she cut it off, grew an Afro and began experimenting with new styles.
Within months, she had thousands of fans on YouTube and Instagram, all hoping to recreate Monroe's "Meechy Twist-out" – a simple, natural style that requires hair to be twisted into sections at night, revealing a soft, curly look in the morning.
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With help from her sister, Vaughn Moore, 32, Monroe soon built her styling tips into a thriving business by reviewing and endorsing hair-care and beauty products. "It was so surprising – things just took off," Monroe says. "I started hearing from women all over the world."
Then, one day last April, shortly before her 29th birthday, Monroe looked in the mirror and noticed one side of her face was drooping. She was also having trouble with her speech. A trip to the doctor revealed that she had suffered three strokes.
Devastating News
Even worse news came when doctors discovered during exploratory surgery that Monroe had a tumor – called a sarcoma – that rarely forms in the brain.
"It came as horrible news to my family," Monroe says. "I was calm, but worried. These thoughts kept going through my head: 'Will I make it? I have to keep faith!' "
The type of tumor doctors found "is often found in muscle or other extremities, but not inside the brain," says Monroe's neurosurgeon, Leslie Schaffer. "It's very, very rare."
Credit: People
Monroe's tumor is not the terminal brain cancer that struck Brittany Maynard, who captured the nation's attention with her decision to end her life Nov. 1 under Oregon's Death With Dignity law at age 29.
In June, Monroe underwent a three-hour surgery at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, to have the tumor removed from the left side of her brain.
The surgery was successful in removing about 95 percent of the tumor. Chemotherapy and radiation, says Monroe, have shrunk the rest to the point that "it seems to be non-existent."
While the cancer's rarity makes a clear prognosis difficult, Monroe's doctors are optimistic. "She's doing remarkably well," Schaffer says. "She's an amazing woman, as beautiful on the inside as on the outside."
After several months of physical, speech and occupational therapy to recover from the strokes, Monroe still speaks slowly and at times struggles for words. But she's determined to make a full recovery.
"I'm trying to keep a positive attitude," she says, "and that's made easier with the support of all these women I don't even know."
Read more at People.