Young Mother Fighting Cancer Refuses To Give Up

Robyn Burke, a busy wife and mother of three young daughters, was excited to complete her long-delayed bachelor’s degree. She planned to rejoin the workforce as her youngest headed to pre-kindergarten.

“We as a family were go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go,” Burke says.

Then everything changed. A routine pap smear led to a stage 3 cervical cancer diagnosis. The cancer was so “stubborn,” Burke says, that it grew despite an array of treatments.

Instead of planning her future, Burke was told to say goodbye to her family.

Down to 67 pounds, Burke refused to give up.

“My kids were too young; the oldest was in middle school,” says Burke, 38. “I didn’t want to miss out on their milestones. My husband, Kevin, and I were both willing participants to try any course of treatment.”

This wasn’t the first time they geared up for battle. Kevin is an Army veteran who spent their early married years facing perilous situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Robyn gave birth at 21 while living on a military base in Germany and became a stay-at-home mom. She parented her first two children alone while Kevin was away while also fostering an at-risk young boy and managing notification trees when troops died.

“We have a well-oiled relationship when it comes to handling huge challenges,” she says. “Since Kevin has seen the most terrible things, he is able to be logical during tough times, assuring me we can navigate them together.”

It Started with a Pap Smear

Burke’s journey began with a simple pap smear in March 2021. She’d had some abnormal bleeding for a while but hadn’t pushed hard to see a doctor. The pandemic made it tough to get an appointment, and her insurance only covered well-woman checkups every three years. Healthy and active, she wasn’t terribly concerned, even when the pap smear results were abnormal.

“It’s easy to find every excuse in the book to put off screenings,” she says. “I am now a huge advocate for preventive care. It is life-saving.”

Within days, Burke began a cycle of tests and treatments including biopsies, chemotherapies, radiation, immunotherapy and surgeries. As the cancer moved into more lymph nodes, she hemorrhaged blood at times and could no longer hold in feces or urine.

“I dwindled from 140 pounds to 67 pounds,” she says. “And my kids were affected, as they missed out on things like soccer games to visit me in the hospital.”

Two Life-Changing Treatments

Orlando Health chemotherapy oncologist Dr. Regan Rostorfer suggested another chemotherapy, this one developed for lung cancer but found to help with some cervical cancers. That’s when Burke’s fortunes changed.

I would literally look in the mirror and be like, ‘You need to pull it together. You are so much stronger than any of this. - Robyn Burke

This chemo is known for being easier to tolerate than some chemos, and it’s only administered every three weeks, which was important since Robyn had been beaten up by her treatment a little bit,” Dr. Rostorfer says. “Even before we did a scan to see if it was working, her body clues told me she was improving. She just kept getting better, and she remained on it for at least 18 months.

“I started to get a little more mobility, doing a little bit more of this and that,” Burke says. “I’d always forced myself to do what I could physically rather than just be bedridden.” By February 2024, she was declared cancer-free.

Questionable PET scan results in May 2024, however, were concerning. Gynecologic oncologist Dr. Shelly Seward took a deep dive into Burke’s history and situation, including multiple biopsies, and confirmed the cancer had not returned.

“I see her as the quarterback of my care team,” Burke says. “When it comes to any decision regarding my body, she’s the one I would go directly to for insight.”

As her health improved, Burke chose to get rid of the uncomfortable nephrostomy tubes that drained her bladder. That was a challenge since her internal organs had changed during treatment. “To fully cure her very aggressive cancer, Robyn’s body experienced collateral damage,” says Dr. Lucas Wiegand, a reconstructive urologist with Orlando Health Medical Group Urology — Winter Park.

Dr. Wiegand offered two solutions, and Burke chose the one with the easier recovery. But first, to make her stronger, he had her visit Orlando Health hyperbaric chambers 80 times. The experience involves breathing in pure oxygen within a pressurized tank. That oxygen assists circulation, aiding the immune system and healing wounded tissue. Over time, she kept getting stronger. Burke attended remote mindfulness programs that Orlando Health offers for free.

In January 2025, Dr. Wiegand performed a urostomy, which involved creating a new way for urine to leave the body. During surgery, he realized she also needed a revised colostomy and called in colon and rectal surgeon Dr. Marco Ferrera to make the change. Burke is in much better shape today.

“She will have a more normal life now,” Dr. Wiegand adds. “She will feel clean enough to go out in public and not wear a diaper. There’s a decent chance she can be sexually active again.” So far, Burke is reluctant to take that step, but she does go to yoga classes regularly, tastefully tucking her colostomy and ostomy bags discreetly into her workout clothing.

Until the ostomy surgery, Burke hadn’t been allowed to immerse herself in water, a huge loss for an outdoors enthusiast who lives on the beach and has a swimming pool. In June 2025, the family traveled to Fort Lauderdale and, with much ado, she waded into the ocean. Her husband, along with daughters Harper, Kennedy and Mali -- now in elementary through high school --       cheered her on.

“It felt almost like my own type of baptism,” Burke reports, thrilled. “I loved having that feeling again.”

Thriving Instead of Surviving

Burke remains cancer-free, weighs a promising 107 pounds and hasn’t had chemo for a year. “I am no longer in survival mode,” she says. “Now I can focus on thriving instead of surviving.”

Burke credits attitude along with excellent Orlando Health medical providers. “I really tried to focus on the mindset,” she says, “because if I focused on how detrimental the situation was, I would have fallen apart, and I didn't want to lose hope. I would literally look in the mirror and be like, ‘You need to pull it together. You are so much stronger than any of this.’”

She also received a great deal of support and knowledge from online boards in which participants share their experiences.

Her medical team seems as thrilled as Burke with her current situation. “I am over-the-moon happy,” Dr. Rostorfer says.

At yoga, in the ocean and elsewhere, Burke is on the mend. “It’s OK to grieve my old self,” she shares. “I’m still here, though, and I’m stronger than you can truly imagine.”