Care and community make all the difference for breast cancer survivor
On Oct. 6, 2018, Elaine Smith stood alongside dozens of women for the breast cancer survivor photo at Come Walk With Me.
“The minute I got up there, I was just in involuntary tears,” Smith remembers.
Those same emotions return every time she participates in MultiCare Good Samaritan Foundation’s breast health fundraising walk.
Every year when we take that darn picture, my friends laugh because they’re like, ‘Here she goes,’” Smith says. “But when you stand with other survivors, something just clicks.”
As a Sumner resident for two decades, she had long been familiar with the event, but her own cancer journey gave it a whole new meaning.
“I remember saying to my friends, ‘I need to be part of that walk,’” Smith explains.
Her team, Elaine’s Rack Pack, has been a staple ever since.
“The first year, it was probably 10 or 12 of us … and over the years, our team has just gotten bigger and bigger,” Smith shares. “Now, we can hardly stay together when we walk because there’s just so many of us. I love having that problem.”
A community staple
Raised in Centralia, Smith graduated from Pacific Lutheran University and spent 39 years as an elementary school teacher and district administrator, mostly in the Fife School District, before retiring in 2023.
She’s also been a fixture in Puyallup as the scorekeeper for Rogers High School basketball games since 1983. What initially started as a part-time college job has turned into 42 years (and counting) as an integral part of the community.
“It gives me joy,” Smith says. “It’s part of my life now and I can’t imagine not doing it.”
She’s only missed one season, following her breast cancer diagnosis.
A fortunate twist of fate
Smith never imagined a spider bite could save her life.
In 2017, she noticed some redness and itching on her left breast. Smith promptly scheduled a visit with her gynecologist Jennifer Permann, PA-C, MPH, at MultiCare Women’s Center – Puyallup.
Smith’s fears were put at ease — it was nothing more than a spider bite that could be treated with an antibiotic. Permann also noticed Smith was about a month overdue for her routine mammogram and arranged for her to come back the following week.
“I’m usually pretty good about scheduling, but a month might have become two or three months,” Smith shares. “And those dang spiders were how we discovered the mass on my other breast and that I had lobular cancer.”
Never alone
When Smith’s mammogram initially revealed the mass, her care team moved quickly, led by surgeon Eunice Cho, MD, at MultiCare Cancer Institute – Tacoma General Hospital. Within a few weeks, she was undergoing surgery.
“I remember being … just so afraid,” Smith recalls. “I had never even broken a bone before, so it was all overwhelming — the rapid pace of everything. My brain would go to all of these ‘what ifs,’ but then we just started unpacking it day by day, and you find a rhythm to it.”
A scan also revealed affected lymph nodes, triggering the start of regular chemotherapy and radiation. Facing her fears head-on, she drew strength from her strong support network of family, friends and colleagues, as well as her team of providers.
“The minute I’d walk into the clinic or hospital, I just felt supported,” Smith reflects. “Even in the midst of something as awful as it was, I never once felt alone and only felt care and love from the MultiCare team.”
Transitioning to a new normal
In February 2024, Smith completed her last biannual Zometa infusion, which helps reduce bone complications related to breast cancer. While the joyous milestone marked the end of treatment, she found herself a little nervous about transitioning into life after active care.
“It’s scary when treatment ends because you get used to these checkpoints about how you’re doing and providers telling you that you’re on the right track,” Smith explains. “They become your anchor, your safety net.”
Since then, she’s leaned into her East Pierce community, continuing her role with the basketball teams and becoming an even stronger advocate for preventive care. What’s more, Smith now looks for ways to support others going through their own cancer journeys.
“It’s nice to be able to become someone else’s North Star because I had so many North Stars,” she shares.
Creating a tradition
Oct. 4, 2025, marks Smith’s seventh year at Come Walk With Me. As always, she’ll be alongside her ever-expanding team, raising funds and taking steps to support others going through treatment.
Donations provide breast cancer patients with vital resources like wigs, cooling caps, camisoles, support groups, treatment handbooks and more. Later this year, Come Walk With Me proceeds will help open a new breast health clinic at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, expanding access to timely diagnostics, advanced procedures and comprehensive care.
Smith is excited to see this beloved event continue to grow and make a difference for more people in her community.
“To know that the money raised here stays here … is so important,” she says. “That just energizes me to keep raising more and encourages me because what could we fund next?”
Learn more at comewalkwithmenow.org.
