It Takes a Team: Cheryl Fields and Her Breast Cancer Journey

Cheryl Fields is used to routines. The Beaufort-area mother of seven children would not survive long without them. But nothing was routine about the screening mammogram she had last year at the Beaufort Memorial Breast Health Center.

Read More: Screening vs. Diagnostic Mammogram: What’s the Difference? 

The then 42-year-old felt fine when she arrived for her annual appointment. Following her screening mammogram, she waited patiently in the dressing room for the ‘all-clear’ from the radiologist. She never expected she would be asked to undergo a breast ultrasound to get a closer look at some suspicious areas.

“The doctor saw something on the mammogram that raised a concern,” Cheryl recalls. “There were two spots in my left breast.”

Something Was Wrong

A Beaufort Memorial Breast nurse navigator called Cheryl shortly thereafter and assured her that the cancer was treatable.

“I remember saying, ‘You mean I’ll get to see my children grow up?’” she recalls. “The navigator's news gave me hope, and I knew that I was going to fight this battle and win for my children.”

A Supportive Team

“I could tell she was a very strong woman, but also that she was overwhelmed with her new diagnosis,” recalled social worker Kianna Brown, LMSW, of meeting Cheryl for the first time. “I had to convince her that it was okay to not be okay.”

Like so many people, Cheryl did not want to be a burden to anyone, including her care team.

“Eventually, we came to a mutual understanding that I was going to extend my hand to her, and she was going to take it,” Kianna says. “She was not going to walk this path alone, no matter what.”

Following meetings with her surgeon, nurse navigator and social worker, Cheryl met with medical oncology and radiation oncology experts from the MUSC-affiliated Beaufort Memorial Keyserling Cancer Center to understand her options and map out a treatment plan. The recommendation was made for Cheryl to undergo a single mastectomy followed by four rounds of chemotherapy.

Read More: Choosing the Right Type of Breast Cancer Surgery — and Why It Matters

Unexpected Turns

Just as Cheryl was settling into her treatment routine, life took another turn. She developed a serious reaction to her second round of chemotherapy, prompting a halt in her treatment.

“I was so sick I thought I was going to die,” she said.

According to Susanne Baisch, FNP-BC, Beaufort Memorial board-certified advanced oncology certified nurse practitioner, approximately two percent of patients experience serious infusion reactions, typically during their first or second round of treatment.

Cheryl’s team rallied around her, and her oncologist prescribed steroids for her to take before and after each chemo infusion.

But just as she was resuming her treatment regimen, Cheryl and her family learned they would be unable to renew their lease and would have to move to a new home, a monumental task in the best of times.

Read More: Newlywed and Newly Diagnosed: Breast Cancer Survivor Tiera White

Kianna vividly recalls a moment when Christmas was approaching, and she could sense a heaviness in Cheryl. Kianna knew that between her treatment and her family’s move, it was not going to be an easy season.

“I looked at her and I said, ‘You’re going to let me help you with this,’ and she said, ‘Ok,’” Kianna recalls.

Kianna learned that the team on the hospital’s medical/surgical and orthopedics unit was looking for a family to adopt for Christmas. Following one phone call to the unit’s Assistant Director Lisa Terwilliger, RN, the team leaped into action, providing Christmas presents for the entire family and even housewarming gifts for their new home.