Adam Prudhomme
Editor
On May 17 Shae-Lynn Way received the news she had tested positive for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
That news would be devastating for anyone, but it was particularly heart wrenching for the Tamworth native because it was her second relapse with the disease in two years-all before her 25th birthday.
Through it all, Way has been open about her battle, always willing to talk about a topic most would rather not. She’s now sharing her courageous battle with the world through a blog titled Finding My Ways https://findingmyways.weebly.com/.
“The blog was for me and for other people following my journey, kind of a good way for me to express myself and explain my story and share it,” said Way. “It’s kind of like a diary, but a little bit more public. But also to educate and show people that not every cancer journey is the same and for other people to see my story and learn from it and just to be updated on where I’m at.”
Though going through her own daily challenges, Way wants to help others who might be going through their own battle.
“When I started out and I was told I had to have a stem cell and the whole idea and being told that you have cancer, there’s a lot of questions and a lot of unknowns,” said Way. “I really found a lot of answers and a lot of calmness in understanding how other people have experienced it. So reaching out to other fellow cancer survivors was something that I used as a resource to understanding what to expect. Obviously everyone’s journey is different, but it gave me a little bit of an idea so I thought I would love to be that for someone and I have been, people have reached out to me and asked me my input on this part of the journey and this transplant. I love helping out anyone that I can because I know it’s such a scary and anxious time when you don’t have answers.”
Originally diagnosed with cancer in March 2020, Way faced her first round of chemotherapy during the height of the pandemic, which meant visits with family while in the hospital were extremely limited. In August of 2020 she received an allogeneic stem cell transplant in Ottawa, her sister providing the donor cells.
Just when it seemed like her horrible journey was over, she relapsed in October of 2021.
This time around she underwent a revolutionary treatment known as a CAR-T transplant, which saw her own t-cells extracted and shipped to New Jersey, where they were treated and then infused back into her body, now with the ability to fight off cancer.
In February of 2022 she was declared to have beaten cancer for a second time-only to have another relapse in May.
“It’s definitely been harder to stay positive and stay hopeful through every relapse,” admits Way. “I think every time I have a relapse I find my mental health and my strength feels like it’s been kicked down a little bit for the first bit. It kind of goes in waves of when I get good news and when I get bad news too as well. Some days you just feel defeated and you just feel like you can’t do anything right or nothing’s going to work out. Those are the days you just allow yourself to have a day of negativity and feeling down and that’s totally fine.”
“Going through this journey I’ve learned it’s ok to have bad days. It’s ok to let yourself feel it and cry. It’s just about how you get back up and put yourself back together,” Way added.
When originally diagnosed, Way was in the middle of working her way towards a Psychology degree at the University of Ottawa. Throughout her battle she continued her studies and on June 8 she graduated with honours.
“That was a really good milestone for me just because I was diagnosed in the middle of my university experience and finally getting to finish that, even though I was going through cancer was a huge milestone with me and being able to receive my degree on stage meant a lot too,” said Way.
Following her latest diagnosis, she’s been on a weekly treatment of a chemo and immunotherapy drug mixed together. Next month she’s scheduled for an allogeneic stem cell transplant.
“That will be my second stem cell transplant, which is very unheard of for people to have three transplants in the matter of two and a half years. But I guess I’m a special case,” said Way.
She’ll continue to document her journey in the hopes it will encourage others to keep fighting.
“It hasn’t been easy, I definitely put on a face with the positivity some days,” said Way. “Some days it’s real. Some days it’s kind of like an act just trying to trick myself to be positive. I know how hard it is and I know how many struggles you face just on the person but also on their family. I’ve been through it; I’ve lived through it at such a young age. That’s just the compassion in me that just wants to make sure that everyone is ok in the same situation if I can help in any way I’d love to, just to make them feel a little bit more comfortable and make them feel like they’re not alone in their upcoming journey.”