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While deployed to Kuwait in 2016, Staff Sgt. Cinnamon Kava, 60th Logistics Readiness Squadron unit training manager, discovered a solid knot on her collarbone.
“I was lying in bed and went to adjust my necklace when I felt it,” said Kava. “I did what everyone does, I went online to research ‘knots on neck.’”
When the online search returned information about the possibility of cancer, she couldn’t believe what she was reading.
“When I mentioned the search to a couple people in my shop, they told me to stay off the Internet because I was just going to freak myself out,” said Kava. “I went to the doctor soon after and they did an ultrasound, but they couldn’t tell what it was.”
She went from Kuwait to a U.S. Army base in the area that did a positron emission tomography scan. The PET scan led them to believe she needed a biopsy, so she was sent to Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
A PET scan is an imaging test that allows a doctor to check for diseases in the body. The scan uses a special dye that has radioactive tracers. A biopsy is a sample of tissue taken from the body in order to examine it more closely.
“They said, ‘we looked at your PET scan and it looks concerning as it could possibly be lymphoma,’” said Kava. “So, they sent me back to Travis Air Force Base, California, my home base, to get the biopsy.”
From discovery of a knot to being medically evacuated as a possible cancer patient was a matter of a couple days.
“It all happened so fast,” she said. “I was in Germany for maybe 12 hours before I was medevac’d. Luckily, my dad, John, and stepmom, Wendy, were able to meet me at Travis when I arrived.”
She was biopsied upon arrival and then had to wait for her results. While her dad and stepmom were staying at the Fisher House on base, Kava went to the hospital for a separate appointment and, while there, was summoned into the office for her results.
“I was by myself when I got the news,” said Kava. “My initial reaction was that it was all so surreal. The doctor handed me a packet of information telling me about the cancer. I took the packet with me to the car and I didn’t even look at it. I called my dad and said, ‘It’s Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.’”
With no prior symptoms, Kava faced the reality that she had cancer. According to The American Cancer Society, Hodgkin Lymphoma is a cancer that starts in the white blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are part of the body’s immune system.
“I wasn’t tired, I didn’t feel sick, the knot just appeared,” said Kava. “I am so thankful that the doctor in Germany sent me home, because trying to deal with that news while deployed and away from my family would’ve been a lot more difficult.”
She started her four-month treatment, which included eight rounds of chemotherapy in November 2016.
“They would put the needle in my chest and hook me up to a machine where I would sit for two hours to get the four types of medicine for the treatment,” she said. “Treatment in the oncology department (at David Grant USAF Medical Center) was amazing. I even became really good friends with my nurse, Kendra.”
Capt. Kendra Alanis, 60th Medical Operations Squadron clinical nurse, provided Kava’s chemotherapy during her four months of treatment.
“It is a heavy regimen and the chemo she got was intense,” said Alanis. “I would ask if she felt any side effects and she would always say she was fine. She was a trooper from day one. She was so strong and stoic to the point that she was hard to read in the beginning of treatment. I quickly realized that she was just really strong.”
Kava faced many adversities during her treatment, but one in particular was the toughest for her.
“My dad jokes that the only time I cried throughout this whole process was when my doctor, Dr. Malhi, sat me down to go over the chemo treatment and she said, ‘you will lose your hair,’” she said. “After my last treatment, when it started falling out, I went through the whole cycle of ‘do I shave it, do I cut it short, or just leave it and see what happens?’”
She ended up cutting her long hair, which had basically lost half of its thickness, and wearing it in a ponytail when she returned to work in March. The Air Force Instruction 36-2903 allows a ponytail for hair that cannot fit in a bun as long as it does not go below the bottom of the collar.
“I avoided pinning it in an upright clip, so it wouldn’t look like a rooster tail,” said Kava. “I wanted to ensure I was still in regs while I was healing.”
Kava remained motivated and positive through her treatment due to her faith, her support system and basketball.
“Through this whole time, I had to convince myself that there was nothing I could do about this and have faith that whatever is supposed to happen, is going to happen,” she said. “With that type of faith, I didn’t worry as much about what was going to happen. I tried to keep myself busy so I started volunteering with the Will C. Wood High School basketball team (in Vacaville, California).”
After helping at their basketball practices for a year, the school made her an assistant coach. This helped her stay in shape for the upcoming All-Air Force Training Camp in San Antonio, Texas, this month, where she will try out to be part of the team.
Kava has played basketball for most of her life, including participating in the Armed Forces championship, known as the Conseil International du Sport Militaire Women’s World Basketball Championship in France in 2014 and 2015 as part of the All-Air Force team.
Her squadron supports her basketball goals and was a main source of support during her treatments.
“The hardest part for me was to let people be there for me,” she said. “My squadron was so supportive. I could’ve done my treatment anywhere, but I chose to stay here because the hospital was amazing and my commander, Lt. Col. Traci Bowman, was so supportive.
“I feel like in the military, if you are going through hard times like that, it is important to let people care about you. It really helped at the end of the day knowing that I had a big support system of people who wanted to help and who wanted to be there for me.”
Kava completed her treatment in February, but will continue to receive PET scans for the next year. She knows that she will have a great support system of family, friends, co-workers, nurses and doctors to help as she continues on her journey of healing.
“She is an amazing Airman who never wanted cancer to define her,” said Lt. Col. Traci Bowman, 60th LRS commander. “She handled it like any task – something to be completed to the best of her ability. She remained focused on the mission and when she couldn’t play basketball, she watched. When she was able to get back on the court she played her heart out.
“We had the opportunity to get to know her family as they stayed in the Fisher House for most of her treatment and while you could see the love and concern for her, her family refused to treat her as a victim, instead they focused on her warrior ethos,” she said. “I am honored to serve alongside of her. I just had the privilege of reenlisting her while her mom, Kim, FaceTimed. While Cinnamon wanted to keep the ceremony small, the room was full of people who love and care for her. She makes this squadron better.”
| Date Taken: | 10.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2017 17:23 |
| Story ID: | 257404 |
| Location: | TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Fighting Cancer with Faith, Support and Basketball, by TSgt Amber Carter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
