Kelsey Stiff inspires others and finds support at DDHS  during cancer treatment

At the beginning of this summer, Kelsey Stiff was diagnosed with breast cancer, more specifically invasive ductal carcinoma. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women but those cases are typically found in older women. So, it was a surprise when she got the diagnosis. 

For many months, Stiff has had to cope with a new illness while also maintaining normalcy to care for her kids and family all the same. She’s had to make many adjustments but has learned new lessons. 

But through all of this, she notes many new things she’s been able to learn: “I’ve learned so much. There’s a bunch of different types of breast cancer and my tumors are HER2 positive.” 

Every three weeks since her diagnosis, she has had to go through overwhelming amounts of chemotherapy treatments. Many say it’s probably the hardest part of having cancer. She went through all these sorts of drug treatment trials and tried to make the most of it. With her specific type of cancer, she had to start chemotherapy first. 

“With my chemotherapy, they started me on four different types of drugs and they gave it all to me in one day,” Stiff said.

  She receives all of her medicine through a port that attaches to a major vein that goes straight to her heart. The vein comes down from her neck and across her collarbone. All of her treatment goes through that port which was surgically placed inside her body with a needle that’s 3 quarters of an inch long. That whole process is once every three weeks for 6 hours long.

“I have to wear ice packs on my hands and my feet during one of the treatments,” said Stiff. There is still a lot for her to get used to. Chemotherapy is cumulative so everything just builds on top of each other. 

Stiff only has until October 26th and her current chemotherapy treatments end. She would have a small break in between in order to regain some energy. 

Much of it feeds on her energy so this break allows her time to recoup between treatments. Given the negative effects of her condition, Stiff—who is outgoing and loves to socialize—has been unable to visit her loved ones as frequently. 

“That has been the thing that has impacted me the most because I very much am filled up from spending time with my friends,” Kelsey Stiff said. 

She has had to put off doing many things from her regular routine for a while, including exercising and even doing simple things like climbing stairs. Chemotherapy destroys the nerves, and it also impacts the heart. It was extremely frustrating for her to perform daily tasks, especially after the first week of chemotherapy. “Let’s say if I go up the stairs, my heart can go up to 120 beats per minute,” Ms. Stiff said, “I have not been able to work out because of that.” 

It seems to be an ongoing rollercoaster that starts and stops when chemotherapy starts or ends.  She will undergo several surgeries, radiation treatments, and an additional year of chemotherapy. 

Stiff has been fortunate to have a solid support network throughout it all. She and her husband have been able to easily get all the help and support they need. When Stiff had to shave her head specifically for cancer, her friends and family came together to support her. Her friends also continue to offer assistance when she needs it to care for her children or support her husband with lifting the burden off everything. 

Stiff said, “They’ve been amazing at just keeping up and doing emotional check-ins. I’ve learned to let people help us without feeling awkward and uncomfortable which is the biggest lesson from all of this.”

When asked how it felt to have her hair completely shaved off for treatment, Stiff laughed and said, “It’s bizarre, so bizarre, I was just in shock and it didn’t feel like me.” But as time has passed by, she has emphasized that she spent a lot of time coming to terms with it, even though her hair may not completely return to normal. 

Even though they are still young, Stiff's children have been a huge source of comfort and amusement during difficult times. They have continued to shower her with humor throughout her treatment, even through the most trying times. 

When asked if she had something to leave off for us, she emphasized how grateful she was, “I’m just super thankful for my student council students. I told them this summer that a lot of what goes down this year will be up to them.”

"Kelsey Stiff is the true definition of a warrior, showing strength and positivity when faced with her diagnosis. It is our honor to take care of her and her family the way they have always cared for us," English teacher Michelle Wood said. 

As work provides her a distraction from all the stuff that she has to go through personally, her student council students have been handling it as best as they can navigate it all. In these times, Kelsey Stiff is continuing to make the best of her situation and return to the best semblance of normalcy she had before.