What happened, in summary

At 78, Kehau Matsumoto described herself as a five-time cancer survivor and patient advocate in Hawaii. Her first breast cancer was found on a routine mammogram in 1993. Afraid of surgery, she chose radiation therapy.

Breast cancer later returned more than once. Some recurrences were treated with lumpectomies, and in 2006 she received additional radiation and underwent a left mastectomy. She then went 5 years without another breast cancer recurrence. Kehau was later diagnosed with leukemia in 2016 and received oral chemotherapy for that cancer until 2019.

At the latest report, Kehau said she had no signs of cancer and was living with few treatment side effects. Her experiences led her to become a patient advocate, particularly for people in rural parts of Hawaii who faced transportation, insurance, and care-navigation barriers.

Kehau encouraged patients to involve family or another trusted person in their care. She also worked to make cancer education more accessible within Native Hawaiian communities and to encourage routine screening.