Kevin Earnest knew something was wrong.
“I was losing weight like crazy,” the Oak Park resident says. “I was sweating a lot, and I was craving ice like a pregnant woman.”
The turning point was his oldest son’s prom send-off. Kevin, his wife Maya and both sides of their families came together to celebrate. Kevin was thrilled to show off his son’s custom-made outfit and milestone moment.
But he spent most of the event in the bathroom with stomach pain and vomiting.
“Normally, Kevin is very strong and has a lot of energy,” Maya Earnest says. “He always finds something to do, but at a certain point, he stopped doing stuff. Everything was making him sick. All I had to say was, I’m deeply concerned about you, and he went to get it checked out.”
Neither Kevin nor Maya knew that they would ultimately both get diagnosed with cancer in the next three years.
‘It’s not going to end this way’
In September 2019, Kevin was quickly referred for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy at Rush University Medical Center with Salina Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist.
While still in the recovery area after his colonoscopy, he got the news: He had colon cancer at the age of 39.
“When they told me they had bad news, they thought I was still sedated because of how calm I was,” Kevin says. “But it wasn’t a shock to me — and I said in my mind, it’s not going to end this way.”
A message of hope, a path to healing
Soon, Kevin learned he would need surgery to remove his colon, as well as chemotherapy. After surgery, he would find out if the cancer had spread outside his colon.
Because of the location of his cancer, Kevin was able to avoid an ostomy — a procedure where the colon is connected externally to a plastic bag to allow for waste to pass through. Like most patients with colon cancer, the surgeons were able to remove his colon and then reconnect the healthy sections of his GI tract.
While awaiting surgery, a random email became a source of hope and strength.
“I got a spam email at work,” Maya says. “No name was provided, just a list of three scriptures that I wrote on a sticky note. They told us: Trust me. Be not afraid. You are healed. And I am with you.”
“I laminated the sticky note, and I carry it with me,” Kevin says. “I had it on me when I went into surgery.”
Kevin had his colon removed by Sam Pappas, MD, a general surgeon at Rush University Medical Center.
“They handled Kevin with so much care,” Maya says. “It’s important to be able to talk to your doctor and not feel like it’s a scary experience. They can take fear away. Seeing Dr. Pappas’ smile gave us hope.”
Following his colon removal, doctors confirmed that Kevin’s cancer had spread to his liver. This meant his cancer was stage 4. Undaunted, and with the support of his surgical team, Kevin had a quarter of his liver and his gallbladder removed.
Kevin received chemotherapy at Rush University Medical Center.
"The Rush team was flawless,” Kevin says. “They never skipped a beat. They were knowledgeable and kind, down to earth and easy to talk to. I just can’t say enough about it. They go the extra mile.”
Throughout his treatment, Kevin remained resilient.
“His attitude was, this is nothing to stress about,” Maya says. “He never acted defeated. His attitude changed me forever.”
A new challenge — and new support
By 2021, Kevin showed no evidence of disease. That’s when Maya noticed a subtle physical change during a breast self-exam.
“I remember thinking, something’s off,” Maya says. “Kevin didn’t notice any change, but he told me, it’s enough that you feel it — go to the doctor.”
Maya saw her family physician, Keri Fair, PhD, MD, at Rush Oak Park Hospital.
“She’s so calm,” Maya remembers. “And she didn’t feel any lumps or changes. But she went ahead and sent me for a mammogram.”
Following a mammogram and biopsy, Maya was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer.
Maya had lobular cancer, which is less common than other forms of breast cancer. Lobular cancer doesn’t typically form lumps but grows instead like a spider web. It often has no symptoms until a more advanced stage.
Surprises, surgery and survival
When Maya met with Rosalinda Alvarado, MD, a surgical oncologist at Rush, they discussed whether she should opt for a lumpectomy — removing part of the breast — or a mastectomy that would remove the entire breast.
“She told me I’m brave to make a serious decision without hesitation,” Maya says. “But I didn’t need to think about it. This cancer moves in a way that’s undetectable. Just take my breast. My concern is to be healthy and alive to see my children get old. I knew if Kevin was so positive during his treatment, I could do it.”
Maya’s surgery had to be rescheduled when she got COVID-19 in summer 2021. Then it had to be rescheduled again due to some surprising news: Maya was pregnant. Ultimately, the pregnancy was not viable.
“She is a gladiator,” Kevin says. “I knew there would be days where she fell apart, and I was there fully for her.”
Finally, Maya had her mastectomy. The cancer had not spread, and she remains cancer-free.
"One thing Maya said to me during her recovery was: no fear, just faith,” Kevin says. “And that attitude is everywhere at Rush. I really feel that Rush gave us a lot of hope.”
Moving forward with faith
Today, Maya and Kevin are enjoying life with their close-knit extended family and their three boys, ages 24, 21 and 18.
“We understand that this affected and hurt us, but we never lost faith,” Maya says. “And we asked, what can I do with this? How can I help others?”
For Maya, that means advocating for her family members to talk to a doctor when they notice something’s wrong. And both Kevin and Maya both got genetic testing to ensure their kids aren’t at increased risk for the same kinds of cancers they experienced.
“Rush made sure there were no loose ends,” Kevin says. “By the time we got to the end, we had explored everything and all the options and had done what we needed to do. I just love Rush.”
