Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Twice cancer has picked a fight with Shae-Lynn Way and twice she has emerged victorious.
There’s a reason the phrase Shae Strong resonates across Stone Mills and beyond.
On Wednesday the 24-year-old Tamworth native rang the bell at Kingston General Hospital to officially celebrate going into remission for a second time. That signified a huge milestone in a two-year journey that has seen countless medical procedures, a relapse, transfusions, transplants and a revolutionary treatment method.
Way’s difficult journey began in March 2020 when she was diagnosed with cancer for the first time.
“It was right in the midst of COVID and I was in school at UOttawa,” she recalled. “I started to get really bad migraines and I never get migraines. Ever. With it being the start of COVID and I was sick and school was starting to shutdown, it was a scary time. It took us about two weeks but we found out that the migraines were actually indicating that I had leukemia. It was acute lymphoblastic leukemia.”
What followed way a 50-day stay in an Ottawa hospital with only visits from her mom permitted due to COVID-19 protocols.
As treatment continued into July, she began experiencing debilitating pain in her leg. Several tests later, doctors determined pockets of infection had settled into her leg, severely limiting her ability to walk.
“That was quite the setback right at the beginning, kind of knocked me down,” said Way.
Through the use of a walker and later a cane, she had to re-learn how to walk. All the while she was continuing to battle cancer.
In August of 2020 she underwent a stem cell transplant with cells donated by her sister, who was a perfect match.
After another long hospital stay, doctors declared the surgery a success and Way was officially a cancer survivor. From December 2020 through October 2021, it appeared the worst was over.
“I kind of went on with my life, finished some school up and started a job, I thought it was gone,” said Way. “In October I started to feel really tired and just felt off getting a little more headaches and I just knew something wasn’t right. I was right. After a couple different blood tests they were able to see the leukemic blasts in my blood. I had relapsed and the stem cell transplant had failed.”
The latest setback left her unsure of her options. That’s when her doctors suggested a treatment that is virtually unknown in Canada.
“Since my stem cell transplant had failed and my chemo had kind of failed, the other option was for me was a CAR-T transplant,” she said. “This is very new in Ontario and Canada. It has been around in the States for a little bit longer, usually people who require this transplant would have to travel down to the States. Since I was under 25 and my stem cell transplant had failed and my diagnosis with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, I kind of fit all the criteria for being eligible to have this transplant and also have it paid for because it’s quite a hefty transplant.”
Costs of the surgery can run upwards of $10 million.
“Obviously that wasn’t going to happen out of my pocket,” said Way.
Fortunately the treatment was covered and doctors got to work, extracting t-cells and shipping them to the state of New Jersey.
“It takes about four to six weeks for them to modify the cells but they modify them and they train them to fight leukemia cells,” explains Way. “Then they send them back and the infuse them back into you and the objective of the transplant is that since they’ve been trained to fight leukemia cells, once they get back inside, they’ll fight your leukemia cells and hopefully fight off all the cancer, which is really cool.”
The treatment began on Dec. 19, which meant another Christmas away from family.
“I was in the hospital for Christmas, but it was worth it because I wanted to get it done,” she said.
On Jan. 24, after yet another month spent in an Ottawa hospital, Way was able to return home. Earlier this month she took a trip to KGH for a bone marrow biopsy to check her hemoglobin, platelet, neutrophil and white blood cell levels. After a few weeks of waiting, she got the news she wanted to hear.
“That’s when I found out that there wasn’t any leukemia left and that I was in full remission,” she said.
That’s when she got to strike the gong style bell for a second time, a tradition reserved for patients who officially beat cancer.
“It felt really good,” she said of ringing the bell. “It was really nice because a lot of the nurses that were there were nurses that had taken care of me at the beginning in 2020. They were all there and it felt really nice to have them. They were huge supports and made a huge difference in my journey. It was too bad I wasn’t able to have my mom or any other family with me but it’s like a different family with the nurses.”
She also expressed her gratitude for her hometown who has rallied behind her through it all with fundraisers, social media posts and stickers with #ShaeStrong and painted rocks of encouragement.
“I’m so grateful for being from Tamworth and being from somewhere that has such amazing community,” she said. “I remember the day that I came home the first time from the hospital, it was like a parade. They had people on the sides of the street welcoming me home, they had the fire trucks out, I saw friends and family on the side of the street beeping their horns and welcoming me home. No where else would ever do that for you.”
She says she’s also grateful for the support from the Deseronto Bulldogs of the Eastern Ontario Super Hockey League, who have worn Shae Strong stickers on their helmets all season.
Way says her journey has come full circle in that when she was first diagnosed, she was reaching out to survivors for guidance. She now finds herself in their position, having spoken to complete strangers on what to expect as they begin their journey. She hopes her story will serve as inspiration for anyone else facing the same battle.