Kootenai | Kootenai Health | Issue 3, 2016

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SUPPORT
LOCAL
CANCER
PATIENTS
You can help support local
cancer patients like Kellie by at-
tending these upcoming events.
Be sure to visit the Kootenai
Clinic booth to learn more about
our services and ways to support
patients and their families.
C H I C K S ’ N ’ C H A P S
Friday, Aug. 26
1 to 5:30 p.m. at the North
Idaho Fairgrounds
Join us for the eighth an-
nual women-only rodeo clinic.
Proceeds will benefit the Fair
Foundation and Kootenai Health
Foundation. Join us later that
day for Paint the Fair Pink and
the Gem State Stampede PRCA
Rodeo. Learn more and register
at .
R A C E F O R T H E C U R E
Sunday, Sept. 18
9 a.m. at North Idaho College
Learn more and register for
the 10K, 5K or 1-mile events at
.
D O N A T E T O D A Y
For ways to help the
cancer patient support
fund, call the Kootenai Health
Foundation at (208) 625-4438 or
visit . To learn
more about Kootenai Clinic Cancer
Services, visit .
BreastCancerin her thigh. Every few seconds she
experienced spasms and had trouble
standing. Thinking she had somehow
hurt her leg, Kellie and her daughter
headed to the closest urgent care.
“At that point I wasn’t even think-
ing about cancer,” Kellie said. “Even
the doctors I saw thought it might
be piriformis syndrome or something
else nerve-related. Cancer never
came up as a possibility.”
For the next year and a half, Kel-
lie’s family physician helped her to
manage her pain. Muscle relaxers
and pain medications were part of
her regular routine until they could
figure out a permanent solution.
S H O C K I N G R E S U L T S
“We finally decided to pursue further
imaging to see if it was something
beyond nerve pain,” Kellie said.
“Sure enough, it showed an abnor-
mality. An MRI confirmed that my
breast cancer had come back in my
bones.”
Kellie was shocked by her new di-
agnosis—stage IV bone cancer—but
was relieved to have an answer. Her
femur and hip were close to fractur-
ing due to the severity of her cancer,
and a surgery called left femur
stabilization was necessary. In this
procedure, a titanium rod is inserted
in the left femur and pinned to the
hip to help strengthen the bones and
prevent fractures. Once her surgery
was completed, Kellie was able to
return to Kootenai Clinic Cancer
Services to begin treatment.
“Even though her breast cancer
recurred, she’s still a candidate for
treatment,” Kevin Mulvey, M.D.,
Medical Director of Kootenai Clinic
Cancer Services, said. “We opted
for hormonal therapy as it would
be easier on her body. It works by
stopping her body from producing
estrogen, which the cancer cells use
as a growth factor. The anti-estrogen
therapy has been shown to improve
survival.”
F I N D I N G T H E P O S I T I V E
“Everyone at Cancer Services is
fantastic and helpful; I almost feel a
little better when I’m there, because
of the staff and care I’ve had,”
Kellie said. “My social workers,
Jessica in Post Falls and Cyndi in
Coeur d’Alene, helped me apply for
help through the Kootenai Health
Foundation’s Cancer Patient Support
Fund and put me in touch with the
Patient Advocate Foundation to help
offset some of my expenses and
prescriptions.”
Despite facing cancer twice before
age 40, Kellie continues to smile,
focusing on the positive and taking
every opportunity to enjoy life.
“It’s crazy being so young and hav-
ing to go through all this, especially
because I have no family history of
breast cancer,” she said. “I’m used
to it now, but it’s not how I pictured
my life; my future. All of my friends,
family and co-workers have been so
supportive and generous. They help
me stay positive and strong. My hus-
band motivates me to go have fun
whenever there’s an opportunity.”
Her advice to those who are too
young to get annual screenings or
who may be facing a new diagnosis?
“Do your breast self-exams—I’m
proof that this can happen to any-
one,” she said. “And focus on the
positive before looking at the nega-
tive. Negativity will bring you down
before you even get the chance to
lift yourself up.”
KH . ORG 7