Sacramento Bee Logo

Diagnosis puts woman’s search for organ donor on hold – for now | The Sacramento Bee

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • SacBee Rewards
    • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Apps
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube
    • News in Education (NIE)
  • Newsletters

    • Sacramento Region
    • Arena
    • City Beat
    • Crime
    • Local Govt Salary Database
    • The Homeless
    • Marcos Bretón
    • Transportation
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health & Medicine
    • Traffic Conditions
    • Weather
    • Communities
    • Elk Grove
    • Folsom/El Dorado
    • Roseville/Placer
    • Yolo
    • Sports
    • Kings
    • NBA News
    • 49ers
    • Giants
    • Oakland A's
    • High School Sports
    • Joe Davidson
    • More Sports
    • Raiders
    • NFL News
    • MLB News
    • River Cats
    • Soccer
    • Colleges
    • Golf
    • Autos Racing
    • Politics
    • Capitol Alert
    • State Workers
    • The California Influencer Series
    • Local Elections
    • PoliGRAPH
    • State Worker Salary Database
    • Legislative Gifts
    • Local Elections
    • California Elections
    • Election Endorsements
    • Election 2018
    • Voter Guide
    • Investigations
    • Data Tracker
    • Public Eye
    • Afghan Refugees
    • Nursing Homes
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Election Endorsements
    • Viewpoints
    • Influencers Opinion
    • California Forum
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Submit a Letter
    • Jack Ohman
    • Editorial Board
    • Entertainment & Life
    • Arts & Theater
    • Books
    • Home & Garden
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Outdoors
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Horoscopes
    • Comics
    • Puzzles
    • TV Listings
    • Sacbee Rewards
    • Food & Drink
    • Restaurants News & Reviews
    • Restaurant Directory
    • Cooking & Recipes
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Appetizers Blog
    • California
    • Big Valley
    • Marijuana
    • Wildfires
    • Water & Drought
    • Lottery
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Market Summary
    • Cathie Anderson
    • Nation & World
    • National
    • World
    • Technology
    • Family
    • Celebrities
    • TV news
    • Weird News
    • Video Break
    • News Obituaries
    • Death Notices
    • FAQ
    • ObitMessenger
    • In Memoriam

    • The Sacramento Bee Store
    • Golf Card
    • Farm to Fork Dining Card
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Legal Notices
  • Place an Ad
  • Advertise
  • Mobile & Apps

Health & Medicine

Diagnosis puts woman’s search for organ donor on hold – for now

By Cathie Anderson

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 06, 2018 03:00 AM

Greenhaven resident Chelsea Roman was hoping to find a living kidney donor, but a diagnosis of early-stage thyroid cancer has put that quest on hold for a bit.

Roman, profiled in The Bee in October, will undergo surgery in mid-February to remove about half of her thyroid, the large gland in the neck that secretes hormones regulating growth and development. The tumors are tiny, Roman said, a fraction of a centimeter.

Roman, 33, said she has been on the transplant list with UC Davis Health for about five years and a year with the University of Washington in Seattle. Born prematurely, she has kidneys that didn’t fully develop and have never functioned at more than 25 percent.

Roman said UW officials put her transplant on hold within minutes of being apprised of her condition. She has not heard about her status on the UC Davis list yet.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Being put on hold does not mean that Roman loses her place, said Kimberly Simmons, a transplant coordinator with the UC Davis Health Transplant Center. Thyroid cancer is treatable with surgery, and, if it did not spread, those survivors can still qualify for kidney transplant.

“Transplant medications are also called immunosuppressants. They decrease your immune system, so your immune system doesn’t attack your new kidney,” Simmons explained. “That’s great, but ... you have no fighting capability against cancer. If you have cancer and you’re on transplant meds, it’s going to come back and flare like a huge fire. And, that will kill you.”

Roman’s sister, Halley Miglietta, said their parents often told the story of how doctors managed to revive a stillborn Chelsea but then warned her parents that if she lived, they could expect a severely disabled child. While Roman has surpassed medical expectations in many ways, her kidney function has continued to decline and now is under 10 percent. She started dialysis in October.

The thyroid cancer diagnosis devastated her, she said, but she’s grateful that doctors caught it so early.

“I went to my primary-care doctor back in October for my annual visit,” Roman said, “and she told me that my neck was looking a little full. She said, ‘Let me refer you to endocrinology.’ ... We did the ultrasound, and they found two nodules, one on the right side of the thyroid and the other kind of in the middle.’”

Miglietta said she wishes her sister could just catch a break.

Cathie Anderson: 916-321-1193, @CathieA_SacBee

Organ donation

Chelsea Roman is one of several local residents seeking a kidney donor. Kidneys can be donated by both living and deceased individuals. Here’s how to become an organ donor:

To become a donor posthumously, visit www.registerme.org. Another option is indicating your wishes on your driver’s license, but no matter which way you register, experts say, always make your wishes clear to family members because they often must give consent.

To become a living donor, visit www.kidney.org and click the “Donate” tab. Often, living donors can start a chain of giving where relatives or friends of recipients volunteer to become living donors in gratitude for the gift their loved ones receive.

  Comments  

Videos

How this young Sacramento resident feels about state’s proposed health mandate

See Mercy nurses provide care at winter homeless shelter

View More Video

Trending Stories

An unsettling sight: Someone strung dead coyotes along a fence near Oakdale

February 20, 2019 12:04 PM

Reports of ‘homophobic’ emoji set off online uproar. What’s going on?

February 20, 2019 07:44 AM

Gavin Newsom’s housing lawsuit put 47 California cities on notice. Is yours on the list?

February 19, 2019 12:00 AM

I owe how much? Americans shocked by impact of new tax law

February 19, 2019 09:00 AM

‘A pretty good season.’ What California’s winter rain and snow mean for you in 2019

February 19, 2019 11:09 AM

Read Next

California flu deaths up despite fewer infections. Watch for signs you need a doctor
Video media Created with Sketch.

Health & Medicine

California flu deaths up despite fewer infections. Watch for signs you need a doctor

By Cathie Anderson

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 19, 2019 03:00 AM

Although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is classifying this flu season as low in severity, California medical providers have reported more deaths related to influenza during this flu season than they did for the comparable period a year ago.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE HEALTH & MEDICINE

How volunteer nurses team with winter shelter to care for Sacramento County homeless

Health & Medicine

How volunteer nurses team with winter shelter to care for Sacramento County homeless

February 19, 2019 03:30 AM
Oroville Hospital gets funds for 5-story medical tower, expects to add 700 jobs

Health & Medicine

Oroville Hospital gets funds for 5-story medical tower, expects to add 700 jobs

February 14, 2019 06:53 PM
Newsom calls on former California First Lady Maria Shriver to lead Alzheimer’s task force

Capitol Alert

Newsom calls on former California First Lady Maria Shriver to lead Alzheimer’s task force

February 12, 2019 12:21 PM
Left on patio in wheelchair, retired Marine died of heat stroke at Roseville care facility, lawsuit says

Health & Medicine

Left on patio in wheelchair, retired Marine died of heat stroke at Roseville care facility, lawsuit says

February 10, 2019 03:00 AM
Surgical team left sponge in patient, who later died. Redding hospital faces state fine

Health & Medicine

Surgical team left sponge in patient, who later died. Redding hospital faces state fine

February 08, 2019 03:30 AM
Sutter-Anthem contract dispute means 20,000 patients must find new doctors

Health & Medicine

Sutter-Anthem contract dispute means 20,000 patients must find new doctors

February 06, 2019 03:30 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

The Sacramento Bee App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Place a Classified Ad
  • Place a Legal Notice
  • Place a Digital Ad
  • Place a Newspaper Ad
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Corrections Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story