MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- In 2021, the morning show co-host of 99.1 Mix-FM went public with her decision to donate a kidney to save her mother in-law's life. The operation was a success. This year, an unrelated issue left Elizabeth Kay facing another tough decision, but this time, it was for her own life.
Her energy is infectious.
"We laugh, we tell funny stories," said Elizabeth Kay in speaking about her co-host Tony "Radar" Hess.
Elizabeth Kay has been entertaining early morning risers for 15 years at 99.1 the Mix. But in 2019, stage four kidney failure for her mother in-law shattered her *personal* world. Kay took action, and in 2021, a paired kidney exchange through uw health transplant center in madison, allowed kay to donate her kidney to a complete stranger so Camille Hamme would get a match of her own. Today, all is well.
"This is the best kidney function she's had her whole life. It's honestly something we don't even really think about much anymore because life is so normal which is exactly what we had hoped for," said Kay.
A quiet time for her mother in-law, but in the last two years troubles popped up for Kay's relatives.
"Our family had a breast cancer diagnosis a few years ago and it came very out of the blue and it happened to a relative who was relatively young. Then last year another relative even younger than the first relative and younger than me had a breast cancer diagnosis and this is where doctors started to pause," said Kay.
Both relatives later learned they carry the BRCA2 gene mutation. Dr Kelli Petit is Kay's surgeon.
"So, the BRCA gene is a gene that helps repair DNA and when there's a mutation in it, it means that natural abnormality in the DNA can't be repaired and it predisposes people to getting certain types of cancer," said Dr. Kelli Pettit, Surgeon for ProHealth Care.
Breast cancer among them.
"I was in the throes of watching a family member go through breast cancer and that leaves an impression on you," said Kay.
So, one by one, the women in Kay's family opted to get tested.
"At the moment we aren't doing testing for everyone, but typically people who have family history of breast cancer, particularly young onset breast cancer, certain types of breast cancer like triple negative breast cancer and then pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, and same thing applies with prostate cancer where aggressive young onset or multiple family members with those types of cancers," said Dr. Pettit.
"When the relative that had breast cancer called and told me about this, I didn't even know how to write it on paper. I didn't know what I was writing down. BRACKA, what is BRACA? I knew nothing about this. I just know that I didn't want breast cancer," said Kay.
Her genetic testing came back positive. And with two diagnoses in the family already, Kay had questions.
"I had very dense breasts so I’m producing more estrogen and I have the gene marker. So all of those factors put together for me meant that I was 50 percent likely to have cancer, which those are worse odds than flipping a coin. When I looked at the option of not doing the preventative surgeries, all I kept thinking about was if I do get diagnosed with ovarian cancer or breast cancer and I had this information I would never forgive myself," said Kay.
One option would allow Kay to do nothing, just return for a checkup every six months.
"And mammograms and MRIs are very important but as one of my sisters reminded me they don't prevent cancer, they just tell you if you have it," said Kay.
So this summer, Kay had surgery with Prohealth care in Waukesha.
"So she had a bilateral nipple sparing mastectomy meaning everything on the outside, everything that you can see from the outside is saved and preserved and through a single incision all of the breast tissue on the inside is removed and then right at that same time, we involved plastic surgery to do reconstruction. It's my favorite operation because I can actually prevent somebody from getting breast cancer rather than treating them," said Dr. Pettit.
Five weeks post-op, Kay's doing well, thanking the many people who've helped her get this far. And she's grateful for family members who encouraged her to go public with her story, in the hopes of helping others.
"My family is full of strong, independent women and they are fighters. I don't want what they went through to have been in vain and that I would know this and not do anything about it because it puts everyone through so much when someone gets diagnosed with cancer in your family -34 especially the person with cancer," said Kay.
It's been a tough journey. Mobility's been greatly restricted after surgery.
"Just opening and closing doors, just trying to get the shower curtain closed, getting the shower head off," said Kay/
Physical therapy's helping, but there's more ahead.
" So now I have these chest expanders which kind of limit my mobility and it's been a learning curv to get used to that as we get ready for reconstruction," said Kay.
One of the hardest parts in the journey, the emotional part, can be with reconstruction. Elizabeth Kay has found strength here with the staff at Illume.
"I feel like for a lot of women it's always an emotional roller coaster. It's got to be a daunting process to say you know we're gonna take a piece of you out and then you're gonna have to have it reconstructed," said Dr. Jenna Cusic, Surgeon, Illume Cosmetics.
Dr. Jenna Cusic with Illume Cosmetics says patients having a bilateral mastectomy can opt to get implants right away. Others, like Kay, first use chest expanders.
"Sometimes we'll see them the first day after surgery or within a week of surgery. Usually by 2 to 3 weeks afterward we'll start filling up those tissue expanders and then usually by a month or month and a half they'll be full. In my hands, I get better results doing the tissue expander followed by an implant in a second stage because I have more control over the process doing it like that," said Dr. Cusic.
Kay's reconstructive surgeries in October. At that time, she'll also have her fallopian tubes and ovaries removed, another preventative step to significantly cut her cancer risk.
"The biggest thing I would love for people to take away from this is to not be afraid of information. This has been so physically and emotionally exhausting at times. I joke that donating the kidney was a little bit easier than having these chest expanders put in," said Kay.
Two women, two surgeries, two years apart, now with more life ahead of them.
"I just never thought never thought I'd be in a position of trying to save my own life. And yes, it was hard, it was physically hard and emotionally, mentally hard, but life is so exciting, I want to be here for a really long time," said Kay.
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