Taylor Leddin-McMaster (Host): Welcome back to the Well Within Reach podcast, brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. I'm your host, Taylor Leddin-McMaster. And joining us today is Ericka Esters, who is here to share her story about her journey through the Riverside Cancer Institute. Thank you for joining us, Ericka.

Ericka Esters: Thank you for having me.

Host: Of course. So before we get into specific questions, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Ericka Esters: I'm originally from the South suburb, so a little bit closer to Chicago, but my family's been living in Kankakee County for over 10 years now. So, people say you're pretty much from here now. So, I am a mother of five children, four girls and one boy. All our adults, except for my youngest, she is 17, and this is her senior year in high school. She has autism, so we have a lot of fun days and a lot of crazy days. But it's wonderful.

And then, right now, I work at River Valley Special Recreation, and we provide recreational programs for adults and youth with disabilities. And then, part-time, I work at Kankakee Key Library as well.

Host: Wonderful. Wow. So, you're pretty busy.

Ericka Esters: Pretty busy. Yes.

Host: So, I know your medical story here starts with various visits to the ER. Can you tell me what kind of pains you were having that brought you there?

Ericka Esters: It wasn't so much the pain, but I was having a lot of vaginal bleeding, like excessive bleeding where definitely something was wrong. And I never experienced anything like that. It was so bad to the point where I would pass out. And then, I would have to have an ambulance come pick me up from home. I've even had the ambulance had to pick me up from both of my jobs before.

Host: Oh gosh.

Ericka Esters: And then, when that happens, like, there's nothing that I can do to stop the bleeding. It just has to resolve on its own. And so, yeah, lots of ER visits, lots of blood transfusions and things like that. And initially, the doctors thought maybe it was fibroids. And then, after, more testing, determined that I had cervical cancer And so, immediately was connected with a whole team of people and to get treatment started ASAP.

Host: Yeah. And so, you mentioned that testing, was that done through a gynecologist appointment? Was that done through the ER? How did that come to be and how did you wind up here?

Ericka Esters: Through a gynecologist, they tried to do a pelvic exam and weren't even able to do it because everything was just so bad. Immediately referred me to an oncology gynecologist. And even before she biopsied, she could already tell that it was cancer.

Host: Oh, wow. So, walk me through being told that you have cancer. What was that like? What did you experience?

Ericka Esters: Immediately, the oncology gynecologist, she broke down what the next steps were. So, that helped me be prepared. And then, when I gave the news to like my family and coworkers and friends, it made it easier for me to break the news. But it was definitely a shock. But I knew that I was going to be okay.

Host: Yeah. So, tell me about when you were referred to the Cancer Institute and who first saw you as a doctor, what was that experience like just in your time coming here?

Ericka Esters: Through Dr. Dewdney, I was connected to the Cancer Institute and it was unbelievable just hearing the name, Cancer institute. And yeah, that this was a place that I was going to be it. It just blew my mind every time I just heard the name Cancer Institute, or when I would receive phone calls and I just was like, "This is really happening." It was unbelievable.

Host: Yeah. And it felt real, I'm sure.

Ericka Esters: Yeah.

Host: And Dr. Dewdney is a Rush provider who comes to Riverside Cancer Institute a few times a month, correct?

Ericka Esters: Yes.

Host: And then, she gets to see patient. So, she's part of that collaboration that we have with them. So, that's nice that you were able to have her experience as well as the doctors that we have all the time here.

So, can you tell me about any other doctors you worked with, the nurses, the staff, and how they worked with you to develop a treatment plan?

Ericka Esters: Oh my goodness. The staff was the best. I feel like I didn't know everyone's name. it just became—I won't say a second home—but I can't really describe it, but I always felt so welcome and just so cared for from the front desk staff, Kaitlyn and Allie; the radiation team, Amanda, Bob. There's so many that I'm missing out. Chemo nurses, Jess. I can't think of all their names. I'm so sorry.

Host: That's okay.

Ericka Esters: Even the volunteers that are over on the chemo side of things, I mean, every time I would come in for treatment. "Do you need a blanket? Do you need snacks?" They started learning what snacks I like, like, "Are you ready for your Oreos? Are you ready for your Pepsi?"

And I mean, from the moment I walk into the Cancer Institute, it's not a sad place to be. You would think that with everything that's happening here, it would be really sad and really down. If the staff are having bad days, I've never seen it. I've never seen it. They just embrace you and they just took care of me when I was in the thick of things. They saw that I was overwhelmed. Even Dr. Rashed, I think it might have been our initial meeting, she saw I was like a deer in headlights. And she said, "I'm going to stop. You are overwhelmed right now. So, I'm not going to give you any more information right now." So, I appreciate all of them. They were just amazing.

Host: That's fantastic. Can you tell us a little bit about—you mentioned radiation, you mentioned chemotherapy. Can you tell us about kind of what that treatment plan was and how long you were doing those things for if you're still doing any variation of those things? What has that been like?

Ericka Esters: So with radiation, that was Monday through Friday. So, they try to keep it at the same time, five days a week.

Host: Okay.

Ericka Esters: And radiation, it is a very quick treatment, but it takes so much out of you. It really, really does. I used to joke that I would look at the radiation machine like it was an enemy at first. Because after I would walk into the cancer institute feeling regular, and then by the time I would leave after just less than an hour, I would just feels so zapped.

So at first, I looked at that machine as an enemy And then, I had to realize like, this machine is helping me. This is helping me to get better. But it was very, very intense. And radiation was probably about six to eight weeks.

Host: Okay.

Ericka Esters: And then, probably a week or so after I started radiation, then I started chemo. And I would come for chemo every Thursday. I was amazed when I was doing my education with Jess. She was one of the chemo nurses that just let me know how things were going to go with chemo, explained the medications and everything. When she said I was going to be here about five or six hours for chemo, I just couldn't even believe it. But chemo days are long days. So, I would bring my laptop, I would have phone charger, books, breakfast, lunch, coffee, everything. You're just prepared for the day.

But then, it became something that I looked—maybe not look forward to, but it wasn't a bad thing to be here. They explained every step of the infusion process, the nurses would explain it. They wouldn't just poke you and just do things to you. They would always let you know, "Okay. Now, we're giving you this. Now, we're doing this." And so, chemo lasted—because they wanted to do it concurrently. So, I think chemo ended the same time as radiation. So, it was probably about six weeks.

Host: Okay.

Ericka Esters: And then, as treatment went on with chemo and radiation, Dr. Dewdney and Dr. Rashed, they did tell me that I was going to need to have surgery. So, I had a brachytherapy surgery. And that was something I was not prepared for. But that was the last step after chemo radiation. So, I had two back to back surgeries in October, but it was to deliver intense radiation to the tumor. So where the Monday through Friday radiation, it was external. But the brachytherapy, it was a device that was put inside of me and it was directly zapping that tumor. So, I had the two surgeries. And then, after that, I moved into immunotherapy.

So, right now, I'm doing immunotherapy. Through summer of 2027 will be my last treatment. But every six weeks, I have the immunotherapy infusion. And what it's doing, it's teaching my immune system to fight the cancer cells. So, things are going well with it.

Host: Yeah, definitely. So, looking at work and family life, can you tell me a little bit about the support system that you've had throughout this journey and kind of what's kept you going?

Ericka Esters: So, my family has been awesome. They have been really a big help and a big motivation getting through everything. And then, I have wonderful coworkers at both jobs. At first, I debated how much I wanted to reveal to people when I was diagnosed, but I just couldn't hold it in.

For me, this process, I couldn't have done it alone. And I'm more of a reserved person. I keep to myself. Cancer will take you out of that zone, and you really realize how much that you need other people during this. Like, I could not have done it alone. So my coworkers at both jobs were wonderful. They started a meal train for me.

And people would sign up to bring me meals. So, I got a lot of good home cooked meals. Sometimes people bought me food from restaurants, gift cards, gas cards, inspirational cards, text messages, just absolutely wonderful. Both of my employers were just so supportive during this, because I was honestly worried if I was going to lose my jobs.

Host: Sure.

Ericka Esters: And they assured me, don't worry about that. we Got you. We got you covered. So, that was a big relief.

Host: Yeah. Well, I'm so glad that you had that on your side.

Ericka Esters: Yes.

Host: Yeah. Because that can make a difficult thing more difficult.

Ericka Esters: Yes.

Host: Good. We're getting towards the end here. And so, I think I know the answer to this, but would you recommend the Riverside Cancer Institute team?

Ericka Esters: Highly recommend. I would brag about this team all the time. I mean, as I said before,z the welcome that I would feel from the moment I came through the doors when I see Kaitlyn and Allie at the desk. It just made me feel this was a good place to be. Even when I finished radiation, the radiation team, I didn't know about ringing the bell. So, they're like, you're going to ring the bell, right? And I'm like, "Yeah. Like, what is that?" And so, I got to ring the bell to celebrate wrapping up that milestone. And they were all there with me. The radiation team gave me a diploma that I completed radiation treatment.

And I was trying to keep it together. But I wasn't able to. I just broke down in tears. But it was just so beautiful how they all made me feel. And I felt like I was just really getting to know these people and they're genuine. It's not pretend. They really, really care. Because you could not work in this type of environment and have a bad attitude or not like your job. This whole team, even the providers from Rush, everyone has been awesome. So, I highly recommend Riverside's Cancer Institute.

Host: Oh, well, I'm glad that they've been such good cheerleaders for you and continue to be as this process goes on. But we look forward to that next summer milestone for you.

Ericka Esters: Yes, yes.

Host: Thank you so much, Ericka, for joining us today.

Ericka Esters: Thank you, Taylor.

Host: And we wish you the best as you continue your journey. And we're glad that you're having a good experience here. So, thank you.

Ericka Esters: Thank you.

Host: And thank you for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast today. To learn more about the Riverside Cancer Institute, visit riversidehealthcare.org.