Surviving the Storm: How Keisha Harris and AdventHealth Battled Cancer—and Hurricane Helene—Together

When Keisha Harris felt a lump in her right breast one day, it didn’t seem like a big deal. She was faithful with her annual check-ups and regularly performed self-breast exams. The 52-year-old had already had her yearly mammogram, and everything had come back normal and clean. But when the lump was still there after two weeks, Keisha knew she needed to see her doctor right away.

“I put it off for two weeks,” Keisha admits. “And that was simply out of fear. So, I called and scheduled my appointment with Dr. Teresa Bradley. And then everything happened so rapidly and fast. I couldn’t even wrap my mind around it.”

After a follow-up mammogram and biopsy, Keisha was diagnosed with stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer, which is an extremely aggressive form of breast cancer. She was shocked by the news. Driving back from the appointment, she found herself in a daze, trying to absorb her new reality.

“My initial reaction was fear,” she says. “You always have that fear that you can’t be there for the ones you love and the ones that love you. So, there was a lot of fear initially.”

Keisha was diagnosed on September 6, 2024, and soon started seeing Medical Oncologist Christine Moore, MD, at AdventHealth Cancer Services Asheville to discuss treatment plans and next steps.

For research coordinator ElizaBeth Heier, MS, BSN, RN, OCN, Keisha’s case stood out to her as the perfect match for a new clinical trial S2212, known as SCARLET – A randomized Phase III Study.

This clinical trial was being used to study whether patients that received three cancer drugs prior to surgery versus five cancer drugs – which is the current standard of care for stage 2 and stage 3 breast cancer – would see the same percentage of tumor shrinkage before surgery. If successful, patients would experience fewer drug side effects, much lower costs associated with their cancer treatment and a shorter time to surgery.

“I read Dr. Moore’s notes on Keisha,” ElizaBeth remembers. “I told her ‘Dr. Moore, this patient is eligible, do you think she would be receptive if I called her to talk about the trial?’ And Dr. Moore agreed. So, I called and left a message. The next day Hurricane Helene hit.”

On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene ripped through Western North Carolina causing catastrophic damage and disrupting access to health care across the region. For Keisha, the storm postponed a key step in her treatment plan. She needed a port to start her treatment. Because of the storm, procedures had to be rescheduled. “I was a little freaked out,” Keisha said. “They kept saying ‘it’s aggressive. We’ve got to get you started.’ I was in a little bit of panic.”

AdventHealth Cancer Services jumped in right away to make sure Keisha was able to access the care she needed when she needed it. “She needed a port,” ElizaBeth says. “But with Helene, there were only emergent surgeries. We said, ‘this woman has a very aggressive tumor. She’s currently stage 2. If we don’t get this woman treated and started, she’s going to be a stage 4.”

Keisha received her port on October 28, and with the support of her family, she decided to enroll in the S2212 clinical trial – 3 cancer drugs instead of 5 cancer drugs prior to surgery.

Joining the clinical trial would also ease some of the financial burden as well. This became incredibly important because not long into her cancer journey Keisha found herself without insurance and burdened with the cost of cancer treatment.

“One day, I go into my portal, and I see a bill for like $80,000,” Keisha recalls. “It threw me for a loop, of course, and put me into a bit of panic. But ElizaBeth said it’s ok. She said ‘We’re going to figure this out. We don’t want you worried about that. We just want you focused on getting better.’ And they just jumped right in to make sure that I had every financial possibility and grant I could apply for.”

AdventHealth Cancer Services helped Keisha navigate the challenges of insurance, while ElizaBeth guided her through every step of the clinical trial process. Throughout her treatment, nurses and other team members provided unwavering support. They cared for Keisha’s physical health and ensured her emotional well-being every step of the way.

“The whole process for me has been enlightening,” she shares. “I’ve had a lot of dark days. And then I would go in and see some of my physicians or oncologist, and those people worked on not just treating me, but making sure I was emotionally ok. The people there are not just there for a job, they care about the actual person.”

On March 11, 2025, Keisha had her lumpectomy with AdventHealth breast surgeon Colette Salm-Schmid, MD, FACS. The surgery went well and later that week Dr. Salm-Schmid called her to tell her there was no residuals and she was cancer free at that time.

“She called me screaming on the phone,” ElizaBeth remembers. “It was great. It was so wonderful to hear her say that. Even now I’m tearing up a little bit. I was so happy for her. She’s just been through so much. She was scared, but she is tough. She’s a survivor.”

Through every challenge, AdventHealth Cancer Services stood by Keisha’s side. Their guidance, support and compassionate care carried her through each stage of her journey, helping her find hope, healing and whole-person care when she needed it most.

“For me, AdventHealth was so important and helpful because they cared about the totality of the whole situation,” Keisha says. “And when I say totality, I mean the mental well-being, how you’re doing physically, financially, how your family is doing. They absolutely advocate for you. It’s just an amazing group of people.”