Meet the Models, SoCal: Elissa Kalver
Elissa Kalver gave birth to her daughter in July 2020 and shortly after, began feeling numbness and inflammation in her feet. Blood tests and more gave her the all clear, but shortly after she discovered a lump. A mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy later revealed that at 34 years old, Elissa had stage four HER2 positive breast cancer. Cancer was discovered in her breasts, lymph nodes, liver and spine. She began treatment right away and has continued doing so for three years.
The treatment path has not been linear. At one point a recurrence of cancer cells in the breast, along with tumors on the brain forced a different course of treatment. Additionally, though a clinical trial she entered began eradicating the tumors, it took away nearly all of her quality of life, prompting another change in treatment. It has been an up and down journey, but Elissa was quick to turn her experience into something positive, founding We Got This, a gift registry for thrivers and supporters. The gift registry was born out of the small things that helped Elissa get through treatment, like Bomba socks, whose no seam toes provides great relief to those going through treatment.
Her positivity extends to her daily decisions to still do all the things that make her happy, from concerts to hockey games and more. She is determined to live her life normally and notes how often people have pre conceived notions of what terminal illness looks like: “humanizing the patient is really important. It is so important for us to cure cancer, but redefining what it means to beat cancer is important too. If I get to live a long life full of quality, but I never get rid of my stage four cancer, that to me is still beating cancer.”
Attending The Runway Show, SoCal last year, Elissa was drawn to the positivity of the event: “good vibes, good energy and community are just as important as chemo and finding a cure. What’s the point of being alive if you don’t get to live.” As someone who likes to dance through life, Elissa is also excited to share her journey saying, “people assume you don’t want to talk about it and some people don’t, but a lot of us do.” We’re honored to share hers.