A former security forces officer credits her unit with helping her navigate the medical process following a breast cancer diagnosis.
Colorado Air National Guard Capt. Kathryn “Kat” Aguilar was deployed to Afghanistan in 2019 when she noticed a dimple on the right side of her skin. Having previously worked in healthcare, she said she knew it was something to get checked out when she returned stateside in October. By December of that year, Aguilar was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37.
“When they first told me, I was just like, I was pretty numb when I came back from Afghanistan anyways, and I was in the middle of a divorce,” Aguilar told Reserve + National Guard Magazine in a Zoom interview from her home in the Denver metro area. “ … and that’s where my Guard family came in and just figured it out for me, like my med group — I had no idea that I was entitled to MEDCON (Medical Continuation orders).
“I didn’t know what was available to me, and I think that’s very common for guardsmen and reservists.”
Aguilar took an “unconventional path to the military,” initially enlisting at age 29. She said the extra life experience gave her a “little more patience in knowing that it was going to take me longer to accomplish what I wanted.” The Colorado native served four years before commissioning to become an officer, which, at the time of reporting, tacked on an additional eight years to her career.
When her initial diagnosis came, Aguilar was a dual status technician. She said she worried about having access to benefits and care.
“And so that was the big thing was, well, how do I stay on active duty so I can have TRICARE, so I don’t have these enormous medical bills that other women are, you know, having to file bankruptcy and losing their jobs and all of this,” she explained. “And so that’s where I say, you know, status is so important in the Guard.”
After encountering an “awful” case manager, Aguilar said that it was her leadership and peers that “rallied around me and allowed me to work when I could, and so I still did.”
“I never felt like I was taken out of contention for an opportunity. And part of that, I think, is to my own credit, that I was a really good officer, and I cared a lot, and I really, really tried my best,” she said. “And so, I think that was very apparent to them, and at the time it – there was never a doubt in my mind that I would survive it and conquer it.”
And she did conquer it, until she began to feel hip pain within the first month of starting a new job. Aguilar had left security forces because she didn’t feel “fit enough” to continue in her role. After an MRI, she found out the cancer was back, and she would be med boarded — a process she described as “devastating” even with a very “helpful” med group.
“So much of my identity was tied up in my career, and because my career was, you know — for lack of a better phrase — it was my passion, and now it’s ultimately being taken away from me,” she said. “And I don’t hold the Air Force responsible for that. I understand they have to protect themselves, too, but it’s the fact that something I didn’t choose is choosing for me.”
Aguilar has documented her story on Instagram and YouTube, sharing the realities of facing stage IV metastatic breast cancer, including hair loss, radiation, new IV therapies, as well as lighter moments with her beloved canines, Roxy and Chloe Marie. Stage IV cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, “occurs when it spreads beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes to other parts of the body … most commonly goes to the bones, liver, and lungs.” Aguilar shared on a recent video that it spread to her skull.
“It’s really starting to take its toll on me, physically, emotionally, all of that … the number one thing you can do is take care of yourself and take care of others around you,” Aguilar said in a Feb. 2 post from a hospital room.
Helping others continues to be a priority, Aguilar said, because she feels strongly about teaching others to advocate for themselves.
“When there’s a will, there’s a way. There’s a waiver for everything,” she said. “If you’re not getting the answer that you need, do not be afraid to go above that person, which is terrifying for a lot of people.”
For Aguilar, those answers came from her wing commander, but she is quick to point out that “every unit is only as good as its best people or worst people, in some cases. I was very lucky that I had very knowledgeable people in key places.”
She also recommends a book by Anne Boyer called “The Undying,” which is available for purchase on Amazon and other major book retailers.
At the time of her interview, Aguilar admitted to experiencing a rollercoaster of days, and she was waiting for her “optimism to come back.”
“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that everything exists all at once,” she said. “You can be grateful for what you have. … And I’m incredibly grief stricken that I don’t get to continue, that I don’t get more time with my airmen, with my career. I think just honoring that both of those things can exist at once. You don’t have to pick or choose.”
Follow @licensed_to_be_ill on Instagram and @SevenLegsProds on YouTube to see more of Kathryn Aguilar’s storytelling.
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