How Kaitlin Sandeno Beat a Rare Cancer She Didn’t Know She Had
Throughout her life, Kaitlin Sandeno Hogan has carried numerous titles: Olympian, wife, emcee, and, most recently, mother.
But this year, a new title joined the list — cancer survivor.
As an Olympic gold medalist, it is not a title she ever thought she would, or wished she would, carry. But this winter that became a reality when Sandeno was rushed to the hospital, only to be told that she had a rare form of cancer that was threatening to take her life.
It all started on the night of Feb. 21, 2026, one which Sandeno remembers vividly.
The former world record holder was at home dealing with stomach issues that were causing her pain. Sandeno, who had given birth to her first child, Jake, nine months earlier, assumed that the pain was associated with the healing process that follows a pregnancy.
After trying numerous positions in an attempt to relieve the pain to no avail, her husband, Pete Hogan, suggested that she go to the hospital for further evaluation. This request was met with reluctance from Sandeno, who assumed she was having trouble passing gas and believed the pain would subside.
However, hours later, that initial reluctance to seek additional help was met with a sense of urgency as Sandeno began vomiting. She was rushed to the hospital by Pete, and at this point, the pain had reached a level where she had trouble moving on her own.
“I could hardly walk into the emergency room,” Sandeno said in an exclusive interview with Swimming World. “On a scale of 10, the pain I was feeling was a 15. It was on a level I had never experienced before.”
Once inside the ER, the pain only continued to worsen, and with morphine providing little relief, she remembers physically screaming out for help. After Sandeno calmed enough to receive a CT scan, the doctor returned with results she was not expecting.
“The ER doctor came back with my results, and he had a different kind of bedside manner,” Sandeno said. “He told me that I had a blocked bowel because of a large mass and that it was going to require surgery immediately.”
After a two-hour emergency surgery, Sandeno later found out that the large mass was a tumor the size of two fists, and had been wrapped around her small intestine, creating a volvulus — a medical emergency where the weight of the tumor flipped her bowels around and kinked the arteries.
Following the surgery, Sandeno remained in the hospital for four days as she awaited the test results on what kind of tumor she had. When the results returned, she found out that she had a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), an extremely rare form of cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, there are roughly 6,000 GIST diagnoses in the United States each year.
In Sandeno’s case, the tumor had been large and slow growing, meaning that doctors believe it could have been developing for almost a decade.
While it was growing for a significant period of time, Sandeno was able to beat cancer because the emergency surgeon was able to completely remove the tumor and have the margins cleared. Simply, she beat a cancer she didn’t know she had.
Four months after surgery, Sandeno received news that following her most recent CT scan, there is no sign of any remaining disease. While she will have to continue to monitor her health, along with following an immunotherapy plan for the next three to six years, the results are welcome following months of anxiety.
“When I got my CT scan results, I was just super relieved and so grateful,” Sandeno said. “It just felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.”
At home, Sandeno is comforted by the fact that, throughout this process, she has been surrounded by a strong support system and by faith that has given her confidence during some of the most difficult months of her life.
She is also aware that, despite the fact that the tumor was trying to take her life, if it had been detected earlier, she may have never been able to become a mother.
“It is a blessing that even though I had this tumor for years, it was discovered after I had Jake,” Sandeno said. “Because while being on immunotherapy, I cannot conceive, so we are extremely grateful for the timing of events.”
Another blessing that Sandeno has experienced during the process is remaining connected to the swimming community in ways she hadn’t expected. The first came when she was in the hospital awaiting her test results. The internist who had been providing care showed her a photo of his daughter standing with her and Jason Lezak at a clinic they had attended roughly a decade earlier.
The next happened when Sandeno was deciding who she wanted as her oncologist. The doctor she selected turned out to be originally from Baltimore and a childhood friend of Michael Phelps, her 2004 Olympic teammate.
These interactions have helped whet Sandeno’s appetite for a return to the swim community, which she will make this summer when she serves as the deck co-host at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine from August 12-15.
As Sandeno has privately fought this battle with the support of those closest to her, she looks forward to reuniting with a community that has played such an integral part in her story. At the same time, she has realized that sharing her story has been a part of the recovery process, something that she hopes can provide strength to others fighting similar battles.
“I know how hard that can be in such a trying time, but seek to find the silver lining,” Sandeno said. “Cling onto your loved ones and your support system and just know that you don’t have to do this alone.”