Guiding ‘guardian angel’

When Khim Owens’ daughter sticks the landing in gymnastics or hits a major milestone in school, one of the first people the mom of three wants to tell is her nurse navigator at Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center.

That’s because Owens didn’t know if she or her then-unborn daughter, Yuri, would survive treatment for breast cancer almost nine years ago. Nurse navigator LaVeda Carter encouraged her every step of the way.

Owens, 44, still tears up when talking about Carter, who has become part of her family; she’s even on the family Christmas card list. Owens sends Carter family updates and photos of Yuri, her two other children and her husband, David.

She makes a point to see Carter at follow-up appointments, including soon after her daughter was born, so Carter could hold her “miracle baby.”

“She was such a positive light in a not-so-positive time in my life. She was that pillar of strength. She was my guardian angel,” Owens said. “She instantly became ‘Auntie.’ The kids love her. I try to keep in touch because she’s important to me. She saved my life because no one else was doing anything; no other facility called back.”

Fighting breast cancer while carrying a baby

Owens was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. Soon after having a lumpectomy at a Georgia hospital, she found out she was pregnant with her third child and that she would also need further treatment.

While other centers turned her away, Owens, who was living in St. Augustine at the time, was familiar with MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston from growing up in Texas. She thought Baptist MD Anderson in Jacksonville could provide similar high-level care.

“Obviously, getting that diagnosis is scary. There’s an added anxiousness when you’re also carrying a baby and trying to get through this,” she said.

After hearing from Carter, who helped schedule appointments and answer questions, and then meeting her and the Baptist MD Anderson team in person, Owens had hope and felt peace.

“I was in such a gloomy headspace. I was overwhelmed, lost and unsure what the next steps were. LaVeda swooped and said, ‘This is what we’re going to do. We have a plan,’” Owens said. “She was so reassuring. She was encouraging the whole time.”

Carter and the team answered all Owens’ questions and explained what she could expect during treatment.

“I wanted every tidbit of information I could get. I had a team that recognized that and was constantly giving me all the information I could ask for without overwhelming me,” she said.

Her treatment included surgery, chemotherapy (before and after her daughter was born) and radiation. Owens said laughter and her unborn child helped her through, along with the support of her family and the Baptist MD Anderson team.

“I told myself, ‘You have to focus on making sure this baby is healthy.’ That’s where my brain went,” she said. “I had a constant reminder that there was life continuing to grow in me. We will come out on the other side of this, and the result is going to be my life and another precious life, too.”

Carter, one of the first nurse navigators for breast cancer patients at Baptist MD Anderson when the Cancer Center opened in 2015, said Owens always maintained a smile throughout treatment.

“She had high energy and remained that way,” Carter said. “She was a trooper. I never saw her smile go away. She gained strength from the pregnancy. She was going to fight through this and have her baby.”

Life together after cancer

That baby, Yuri, is now in second grade, and Owens’ two older children are 12 and 16. They live on a farm in Georgia with hens and roosters, and plan to add goats. Yuri is full of energy, competing throughout the state in gymnastics competitions and placing in the top 10 for her age group.

“She’s a character. She’s determined and doesn’t take no for an answer. There is nothing she can’t do,” Owens said. “She walked at 9 months. She was non-stop talking and babbling as a baby and very alert right out of the womb. She's a ball of energy.”

Yuri also knows her mom went through a lot for her to be here.

“We talk about mommy going through cancer treatment and she knows she’s a miracle baby,” Owens said. “I tell her, ‘You kept mommy motivated and I knew I had to keep you safe and healthy.’”

Owens returns to Baptist MD Anderson for follow-up appointments, now every six months. Additionally, she’s accompanied her mom, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and also went through treatment at Baptist MD Anderson. With Carter’s guidance and world-class treatment, Owens' mom, too, is now doing well.

Sharing her experience, Owens said, is important to inspire others. Hearing positive stories during her own treatment kept her going.

“As long as I’m still here to remind people there's life after cancer, and it goes on as normal, and you may have another 40 to 60 plus years, I’m happy to do it,” Owens said.

Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center has everything you need to take on cancer, from cutting-edge treatment options to compassionate caregivers. To learn more, click here or call 1.844.632.2278.