Kayla Leier with her daughter Adelynn and her mother Deanne
PINK IT
FORWARD Words by Ashley Thornberg Photography by Kensie Wallner
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ometimes our biggest reason to go forward comes in the smallest package. In the case of Kayla Leier, she looks to her baby daughter Adelynn. It’s no secret that parents want to be around to watch their kids grow, but in Leier’s family, the threat of not being there hits a little too close to home. Breast cancer runs in the family, with her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and several aunts and cousins all facing the big “C.” “We say yet, not if. Treat it as if we’re going to,” said Leier. Her mom Deanne talked openly with her kids after her diagnosis, a vast difference from a generation earlier when people “didn’t talk about it.” That attitude delayed action for many women of that generation and that was not going to fly with Deanne, not when she had a daughter to 68
raise. The family openness led Leier to getting screened well before doctors say is necessary for most women. “If we’d have followed government standards—no way. There’s no way we’d be here,” said Leier. At her first screening six years ago at age 21, Leier had a “sinking feeling” that “something was off.” In her case, it’s a mass doctors will be watching closely. They’ve talked about removing her breasts preventatively, to which Leier only half jokingly said, “hack 'em off.” She is currently breastfeeding and would do so again if she has another baby, so for now, the breasts are staying. In the event doctors say they have to go, she’s ready. “They’re not worth anything to me. [Without them] I’m not less of a woman.” Echoes Deanne, “it’s tissue, tissue. tissue. You don’t need it to survive.” Both Leier and her mom take one glance at baby Adelynn and it’s obvious they’re both thinking what Leier says next, choking back tears. “I want to be here forever.”