Steena Xavierra Cavanagh
Steena's Breast Cancer Journey & Plan
Steena started showing signs of Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) in her right breast back in September 2004, including redness of the breast, thickening of the skin and very enlarged pores (her breast looked just like an orange peel), warmness, flattening of her nipple, and shooting pain. She had never heard of IBC and didn't associate any of these symptoms with cancer. She was still happily breastfeeding Elvis and just assumed that these symptoms had to do with breastfeeding and that they would eventually just go away.
On October 30, 2004, a dear friend, Michelle, (who happens to be a breast cancer survivor herself) got married down in Los Angeles. Steena, Adrian, and Elvis attended the beautiful wedding and reception and then went back to their hotel room. Steena did a self breast exam that night and found a lump in her right breast. At that time it was a fairly small lump.
Steena made an appointment with her OB/GYN two days later and was told that it was highly unlikely that it was a cancerous tumor because “cancer doesn't hurt” and “most women in their reproductive years don't get breast cancer”. She was assured that it was probably just a clogged milk duct.
Well, the symptoms remained and Steena's right breast began to grow much larger than her left breast. So, Steena decided to have an ultrasound done in mid-December 2004. She received the results back from her doctor in mid-January 2005 (‘guessin' the holidays held things up…???). Steena was mis-diagnosed with an absess due to a clogged milk duct and was prescribed antibiotics.
The antibiotics did nothing, the symptoms remained, Steena's right breast grew to be twice as large as her left one, and the lump grew larger and larger. AND…Steena became pregnant!
On March 9th, Steena had another ultrasound done and that's when the radiologist questioned the diagnosis. A biopsy (very painful & not fun) was performed on March 23rd and Steena received the diagnosis of Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma on Monday, March 28th via a telephone call from her doctor's office.
With her brother's connections at Swedish Medical Center, Steena was able to become a patient of Dr. Henry Kaplan's the very next day. Dr. Kaplan is a very well-respected oncologist in Seattle and came highly recommended. After meeting with Dr. Kaplan and several breast surgeons and having an MRI done on March 31st, Steena discovered that she was also being given the clinical diagnosis of IBC, one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer. Her cancer was classified as a stage 2B. It was discovered that she has the HER2 gene which means that it's hereditary. Thankfully, Steena's cancer was determined not to be hormone-sensitive which meant that continuing with her pregnancy was a possibility.
Steena sought out many different opinions and researched the hell out of breast cancer in a very short amount of time. After much consideration of all the possibilities, Steena decided to undergo chemotherapy and had her first treatment on April 13th. She has had six chemotherapy treatments thus far, each two weeks apart, and has reached her lifetime dose limit of one of the chemo drugs. She has dealt with many different nasty side effects and has had two separate hospital stays. However, the love and support of her family and friends, the desire to overcome all her challenges, and just thinking about her daughter, Elvis, and for her unborn child helped her to get through the bad days.
Steena had to abruptly stop breastfeeding Elvis before starting chemotherapy which was quite an emotional challenge for Elvis but mostly for Steena. She feels blessed to have been able to breastfeed Elvis for as long as she did…two years and four months. All the doctor appointments and the need for Steena to take more naps have been a bit tough on Elvis but she's been one heck of a trooper. Elvis sure has had a lot of fun spending more time with her Grandma Mary Jane, Uncle Eric, her cousins, Hannah and Aedon, and all her friends.
Adrian has been an angel to Steena throughout this entire process…no surprise. He has been there for her all the way. From daily massages, to cleaning up vomit, to providing an enormous amount of unconditional love and emotional support, to cooking delicious healthy meals, to staying up late with Elvis when Steena has needed to sleep…Adrian has been Steena's rock!
Steena's brother, Eric, decided to cut off his very long curly hair after Steena's first chemo treatment. Steena did the honors of cutting Eric's hair and shaving his head. Eric's hair was donated to Locks of Love and will be used to make a wig for a child with cancer and a low-income. Steena began to lose her hair after her second chemo treatment. She, five of her very close friends (members of the burlesque troupe “Lucky Devil Girly Show” that Steena & Adrian are in), and Adrian all cut off their hair and shaved their heads on May 1st. They all donated their hair to Locks of Love, as well…and so did Steena's 11 year old friend, Willow. The head-shaving day was one of Steena's all-time favorite days. She felt so loved and supported and connected with really powerful people! Losing her hair has been an extremely freeing experience for Steena.
Before the diagnosis, Steena was planning a very natural pregnancy and a home-birth with a midwife. She is still under the care of her awesome midwife, Beth Coyote, but is also seeing a perinatologist. Steena has received many ultrasounds to check on the baby's progress. The biggest risk of chemotherapy to the baby (after the 1st trimester) is low birth weight. So far, the baby is growing just fine and appears to be very healthy. Steena and Adrian want to be surprised about the baby's gender which has made the ultrasounds a bit challenging.
Steena is seeing a naturopathic doctor who works exclusively with people with cancer. She is taking tons of supplements and vitamins to help with the side effects of the chemo drugs and to prevent the cancer from growing. Steena has really focused on her diet and is trying to eat organic foods exclusively and is avoiding processed foods and refined sugar. She tries to drink as much water as possible every day. Her dad and step-mom gave her a juicer and she juices carrots, celery, apples, and all kinds of fruits and vegetables all the time…so fun!
On March 31st, Steena's tumor measured 5.9 cm in diameter and on June 1st, after four chemo treatments, the tumor measured only 2.6 cm. That means the drugs have worked! The MRI results show that the cancer has not metastasized which is really great news. It is unclear at this point whether or not Steena's lymph nodes have been effected.
The Plan
Steena will have surgery (a total masectomy of her right breast and the removal of all her lymph nodes on the right side) on Monday, August 1st. She will probably stay in the hospital for observation for a couple of days and will then recover at home.
Even though her due date isn't until September 26th, it is most likely that Steena's labor will be induced around September 5th (Labor Day…how funny is that?). Steena will be given about three weeks or so to recover from giving birth, during which time she plans on breastfeeding with her left breast, and will then start another form of chemotherapy which is much more aggressive. Steena plans on undergoing radiation therapy after that which will be six weeks of radiation every day. Once the radiation therapy is complete, Steena will continue checking in with her oncologist for five years to make sure that the cancer is gone! If she decides on reconstructive surgery, she needs to wait an entire year after the radiation is over to do so.
Steena has learned a lot from this process so far and plans on being open to learning more and more (about cancer, about being healthy, about herself, about life, and about what really matters!) as this process continues. She has received an enormous amount of love and support from so many people so far and it has been a huge inspiration to her.
Steena has a long road of recovery and healing ahead of her but SHE CAN DO IT!! She will need a lot of help and support from her loved-ones to get through this trying time. Her best friend, Jennie Bryan-Goforth, has created a support network for her and is coordinating her childcare and other physical needs. If you would like to be part of this network of support, please contact Jennie at supportsteena@hotmail.com .