Stephanie Rodriguez

Stephanie Rodriguez is the Clinical Quality Coordinator/Infection Preventionist at Parkway Surgery

Center. She has been an RN since 2004 and has practiced many different modalities of nursing

throughout her career. She is a hard worker that goes above and beyond in her professional life as well

as her personal life. She can always make you laugh no matter what the situation. Her husband Greg is

employed by Beach Mazda as an auto technician. They have been married for 27 years and have

weathered many storms together which has only solidified their love and dedication to each other.

Stephanie is 48 years old and was diagnosed on November 11, 2022, with squamous cell esophageal

carcinoma. Diagnostic testing staged it as a T2N0M0 tumor. It is a rare type of cancer, making up about

1% of cancer cases in the United States.

Stephanie endured 6 weekly treatments of chemotherapy and 28 treatments of radiation beginning on

December 30 th concluding on February 9 th . Stephanie underwent a robotic assisted esophagectomy at

MUSC on April 5, 2023. The surgery was uneventful and being the warrior she is, she was discharged to

home on postop day 4, setting the record for discharge after esophagectomy. Unfortunately, she did

develop a post op complication forcing her back into MUSC on April 14 th for a small bowel resection. On

April 19 th the couple received their pathology results at Stephanie’s follow-up appointment at the

oncologist. Nothing prepared them for what they heard next. While the margins and lymph nodes were

all negative for disease, the esophageal tumor itself did not respond as expected to treatment. The

cancer had spread through the muscle of the esophagus making it highly likely that the cancer will

reoccur at some point. Statistically the mortality rate is 2 years. She will undergo one year of

immunotherapy beginning on May 12 th that may double the mortality rate. She will also have regular

scans to identify any spread of the cancer for the next several years. If you know Stephanie, you know

she is and never has been a statistic. She is a fighter and never likes to be told what she is going to do.

No one is ever prepared for a storm of this magnitude. Current and mounting healthcare costs increase

stress and make it hard to focus on your recovery. Stephanie and Greg will always be the first to help

others. Stephanie with sharing her nursing knowledge and big heart to help others in need. Whether it’s

raising money, collecting food or clothing for those in need, or rushing over to whatever emergency she

is called to by friends and family. Greg helping anyone, friends or strangers, with car trouble or

mechanical issues. And of course, their love for animals. They are both avid supporters of the Grand

Strand Humane Society and share their home with their 3 fur babies: Quinn, Juliet, and Duchess. Paying

it forward is what they do. Let’s turn the table and pay it forward their way!

Organized by Sharon Wagner.