Survivor Series: Kim Packwood-Navarro

Kim Packwood-Navarro has survived cancer not only once, but twice. The news of her first diagnosis came as she was baking Christmas cookies.

“My original diagnosis was on December 19, 2020, with the confirmation of triple negative breast cancer,” Packwood-Navarro said. “The designation of triple negative breast cancer means the cancer doesn’t run in the family; it is an extremely aggressive form of cancer with a high probability of returning.”

Packwood-Navarro underwent chemotherapy for six months followed by radiation and a breast lumpectomy surgery. Then, the cancer returned just some short years after.

“In June 2023, I went for my regular six month imaging and they found something suspicious on my MRI,” Packwood-Navarro said. “At first, they thought it may have been scar tissue from the lumpectomy because it was in the same spot as the original tumor. I insisted on a biopsy and it was again malignant.”

After rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, Packwood-Navarro decided to get a mastectomy to virtually eliminate the risk of the breast cancer returning.

“I always tell people to advocate for themselves,” Packwood-Navarro said. “You know yourself best, and anything that feels off that doesn’t go away in a couple weeks with over-the-counter pain medicine; you really need to be persistent. Go see the doctor and make sure that they’re good.”

Packwood-Navarro’s husband is also a cancer survivor. Originally diagnosed just a couple of years before her, she was his main caretaker during his cancer battle.

“My husband was diagnosed in 2018 with, like myself, a rare form of cancer,” Packwood-Navarro said. “He had a slow-growing form of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and he’s one of just 3% of Non-Hodgkin’s victims in which the disease transforms into an aggressive B cell lymphoma.”

Similar to what she encourages others to do after unfamiliar pain doesn’t go away, Packwood-Navarro also encouraged her husband to see a doctor after he experienced prolonged back pain.

“Unfortunately, he had some back pain that was ongoing,” Packwood-Navarro said. “The insurance company denied his MRI. I insisted that he still go, and we found a dime-sized tumor on his lumbar spine.”

Packwood-Navarro’s daughter is studying to become a nurse at Purdue University Northwest. Currently entering her final year, she was partly inspired to become a nurse because of her parents’ battles with cancer.

“I am very proud of her,” Packwood-Navarro said.

Packwood-Navarro is eternally grateful to have beaten the cancer, particularly given its aggressive nature. She’s equally as grateful that her husband has been able to do the same.

“We basically live our life six months at a time from scan to scan,” Packwood-Navarro said. “While it’s kind of sad to say, and a tough reality, my husband and I are both very blessed that we’re here. We are both very blessed that our cancers were treatable and potentially curable.”

Packwood-Navarro has beat the odds with cancer. In many ways, she’s helping others to do the same.