For someone like Christina Kashiwada, not having a plan is not an option — whether it’s mapping out a training program for her next Spartan Race, leading her team at work, or creating a detailed itinerary for her family’s summer vacation.
But even the best-laid plans can take years to make, and only seconds to unravel.
A crisis averted
In 2017, California was experiencing an unprecedented emergency. The Oroville Dam — the tallest in the United States — had a spillway system failure. If it broke, the state would be flooded for miles and risk the unimaginable loss of countless homes, and potentially, lives.
Christina, a 16-year veteran Senior Engineer in the Division of Engineering in the Department of Water Resources, was among the first on the Oroville Dam scene with her team. Christina works on the State Water Project, ensuring the people and farms of California have the water they need. The State Water Project’s engineers are experienced in remediations and improvements to existing dams and canals, and, thanks to their dedication, California survived the Oroville Dam crisis and averted a near disaster.
Christina’s dedication to work and community have been a constant driver in her life, but it took a health crisis to get her to take a step back and prioritize herself again.
An emergency of her own
Christina’s strength and determination soon faced another test. Out in the field on another overnight work trip, Christina felt a spot on her chest start to itch, and she noticed what she thought was a pimple forming on her left breast. Not thinking anything of it, she went to sleep and went on with her trip.
A month or so later, the itch and the pimple were back. Nothing had grown except her irritation with it, but she brought it up over dinner to her aunt, the Chief of Radiology at another health system, who just happened to be in town that evening.
Despite a previously scheduled annual exam coming up soon with her gynecologist, Christina remembers her aunt insisting she have it examined immediately. “I remember her face so clearly…. she insisted I call my doctor right now,” says Christina.
The race for answers
Things moved fast from there, even by Christina’s standards juggling kids’ school and activity schedules. After seeing her gynecologist at UC Davis Health within a week, she received a mammogram, which turned into a request for an ultrasound, which turned into a request for a biopsy — all within a span of 48 hours.
The results of the biopsy confirmed what no one could have planned for: at 36 years old, Christina had breast cancer.
“Breast cancer awareness is not just in October. Find a health care team that you trust, and if they do find something, be an advocate for yourself and don’t be afraid to reach out for support.”—Christina
Where care knows no boundaries
The answer to “What comes next?” is no easy task. But the care team at UC Davis Health, led by her oncologist Dr. Candice Sauder, had Christina’s back from the beginning. She could ask whatever questions she wanted, whenever she wanted, and she’d be given answers that were reassuring and confident. The doctors never made her feel rushed at her appointment or that she was just another number. They provided the care that they themselves would want to receive, and that kindness extended to Christina’s at-home support system.
“To this day, when I see Dr. Sauder in the hallway she’ll say, ‘How’re your parents?’ Like she remembers us all,” says Christina.
Christina’s parents were by her side from the very beginning, going to every appointment and hanging on to every word from the doctors, no detail too small to be ignored. Her dad carried a binder full of records about every appointment, every note, and every next step – knowing that while he couldn’t take those steps for his daughter, he could ensure that she was never walking them alone. Her mom took time off work until Christina was done with chemotherapy to make sure she could be there for whatever she needed. She did all the cooking to make sure her daughter and grandchildren got the nutrition they needed, helped her daughter bathe, massaged her sore hands and feet from chemotherapy, helped with chores, cared for her grandchildren, and provided the kind of hugs that only a mother can give.
The new five-year plan
The years that followed included surgeries and reconstruction led by Dr. Sauder and Dr. Lee Pu, chemotherapy by Dr. Helen Chew, radiation, and numerous follow-up appointments and scans. But thanks to the dedication of her care team, 2024 marks Christina’s five-year remission anniversary.
From a cursory glance, everything in her life seems back to normal. She’s back to work, back to running, and back to chauffeuring her kids from one activity to the next. But dig a little deeper and Christina will tell you that the same person who started this journey is not the same one who finished it.
“I’m a new person. I started a new life. I got back in it, but this was my wake-up call,” she says. Christina gave a lot of herself to her work and serving her community before cancer. Despite living a healthy and active lifestyle before, today her health and time for herself is even more precious. “I am trying to be an advocate for everybody I know about preventative medicine and how you can help your body be healthy.”
While family is everything, Christina strongly believes that you can’t care for and show up for those you love without taking care of yourself first. “Breast cancer awareness is not just in October. Find a health care team that you trust, and if they do find something, be an advocate for yourself and don’t be afraid to reach out for support.”