California Woman Battling Cancer Says She Is 'Lucky To Be Alive' After Bear Attack

A 66-year-old California woman battling stage 4 cancer said she feels lucky to be alive after a bear attacked her in her family’s vacation home.

Laurel-Rose Von Hoffmann-Curzi was in her family's Lake Tahoe cabin when loud noises woke her up around 6 a.m. on Oct. 30. She knew something was wrong. When she reached the kitchen, she saw a black bear rummaging through her freezer.

"I could see the freezer door half open, and food just going whoosh, whoosh, and it was like in an instant, 'Oh my gosh. This is a bear,'" Von Hoffmann-Curzi said to KPIX. "And the next thing that happens is that I’m being torn apart," she added.

The bear came straight towards Von Hoffman-Curzi and hit her with its paws. Von Hoffman-Curzi was blocking the door the bear came in from and she believes it attacked her because it was trying to get out.

Von Hoffman-Curzi said she was screaming throughout the ordeal. Eventually, she threw a quilt over the bear and it helped her escape. "He's not afraid of people," Von Hoffman-Curzi said, KXTV reported. "My screaming didn't frighten him," she said.

"I am so incredibly lucky to be alive," she told KPIX.

"They don't have a blueprint for your house," Ann Bryant, Executive Director of Bear League, said to the outlet. Bryant added that for the bear the way it got in is the only way it knows out. Bryant cautions people to keep clear of the bear’s way. She added that the bear too might have been scared and was trying to defend itself. "It wasn't her fault at all and it wasn't the bear's fault either," Bryant said.

Von Hoffman-Curzi who is suffering from stage 4 lymphoma sustained a deep laceration on her cheeks that required stitches, puncture wounds, cuts and bruises all over her body.

Patrick Foy, an officer with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the bear was too socialized and explained, "They have successfully identified humans associated with food sources."

Over the months, several bears have ventured out of the burnt area into the urban areas. They are mainly attracted by the food humans leave behind.

"Anything that has a strong odor to it is really the number one thing that attracts a bear onto people's properties," Foy said to the outlet.

In June, a bear had broken into Von Hoffman-Curzi’s property. She took pictures of the giant creature and added that animals often break into cars, but this was the first time an animal had gone inside her home.

Foy said that the cold winter months would not stop bears from entering properties. "If there's a source of food available to them, they won't go into hibernation," Foy said to the outlet.

Wildlife officials have swabbed DNA from the victim’s injuries and set traps to capture the bear. The animal could potentially be euthanized if caught. Officials said drastic measures are necessary in this case due to the horrific encounter.