Help River Siver's quest to conquer breast cancer

Several weeks after a routine mammogram, and many biopsies later, on October 29th, our family received the devastating news that River Siver has breast cancer. The type of breast cancer River is diagnosed with is called Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (TNBC). This type of breast cancer is aggressive, invasive, and resistant to most traditional cancer treatments.

River is a dedicated mother to her two wonderful children, Quinton (14 years) and Landon (5 years) and a loving wife to her husband and the father of their children, Luke Siver. Her whole world revolves around selflessly taking care of her family. This is now a fight for River’s life and we need help.

River will need to have a mastectomy as soon as possible, as surgery has been recommended first, before any other type of treatment. Because River has multiple tumors in her left breast, she is not a candidate for a lumpectomy. With the MRI, we learned that the cancer is only in one breast, and this has given our family much hope. The stage of the cancer and type of treatment after surgery will be dependent on whether lymph nodes are also positive. We are in the process of genetic testing to tell us if River is a carrier for any of the genes that increase her risk of cancer, but we won’t receive those results for approximately 6 weeks. That information will help us to determine if a double mastectomy is needed in the future. They will also perform genetic testing of the actual tumors once surgery is complete, which will give the doctors what is called a recurrence score, helping to determine the percentage of chance the cancer will recur and what type of treatment is next.

“Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for about 10-15% of all breast cancers. Triple-negative breast cancer differs from other types of invasive breast cancer in that they grow and spread faster, have limited treatment options, and a worse prognosis (outcome).” -American Cancer institute.

With the uncertain path ahead, we will need help. Health insurance only covers so much, and the expenses are mounting quickly. River’s particular type of cancer will be difficult to treat. She will need to travel from her home on Maui to the mainland to receive care that is not available here. We are humbly asking for your assistance to make sure all resources are available for River and her family during this very difficult time.

We are raising funds for:

Travel to and from the mainland to receive the best care possible and treatments that are not available here in Hawaii.

Our portion of the medical bills and out of pocket costs that are accruing.

Meals and supplements for River’s new anti-cancer diet and lifestyle changes.

Help around the house while River is recovering from multiple surgeries.

Help with childcare expenses so that Luke can be with River during and after her surgeries.

Therapy for River and the rest of her family.

Basic bills to keep the lights on and a roof over her family’s head while she is out of work.

Because TNBC has fewer treatment options than most types of invasive breast cancer, she will need ongoing complementary treatments in order to ensure the cancer does not recur or metastasize in other parts of her body. Our goal is to get River healthy, and keep River healthy. She has two children who need to have their mother in their lives for as long as possible. Together we will beat this! Any donation, no matter how small, will help River and her family in this fight. We will continue to keep everyone updated as we learn more information throughout River and our family’s journey via this platform.

Mahalo,

The Siver and Holter Ohana’s