Shelley McKee

On February 15, 2017,  five days after my 38th birthday, I had my first mammogram.  It was a bit early to have one as I am a couple of years away from the typical "baseline" age of 40, particularly with my  low risk factors.  I remembered my OBGYN in Mobile (Helen Rogers, MD) referring me at age 35 as she prefers all of her baselines to be done at age 35 for a comparison of future mammos, regardless of risk factor status. I just never did it and so here I was...living in Baton Rouge when I mentioned it to my current OBGYN on that routine annual  visit in February.  She didn't seem overly urgent for me to have one, but in any case was able to call down to mammography and get me scheduled that same afternoon.   I had no idea of  the significance of events of that day nor did I have a clue that they would ultimately play a huge role in saving my life.   Talk about  God being in control!   I was very surprised (and a bit scared) to receive a call  for a follow up mammogram and even more surprised when that led to an ultrasound and finally a core-biopsy.  Almost one month after that mammogram, on March 13, I received the devastating news that I have Triple Negative Breast Cancer and would need chemo, surgery and radiation.  Since that time,  we have determined cancer present in one axillary lymph node, making me Stage 2A.   Good news is we caught it extremely early!  This is a very aggressive form of cancer known to spread quickly (um.... already in one node!)  and  I am in a very good position to fight this due to how early we caught it.  Again, thanks be to God for being with me that day!!!

 I am currently receiving treatment at MD Anderson with plans to have follow up chemo locally in Baton Rouge.  I have several more weeks of chemo followed by surgery most likely in mid-late July followed by 4-6 weeks of daily radiation.  Last week we received fantastic news and our prayers were answered when we learned that my tumor and node have had "remarkable response" to the first 2 doses of chemo (AC or infamously termed, "the red devil").  The tumor had a volume decrease of 87% and the node is returning to "normalized appearance."  We are obviously elated to say the least!  I have created this page to share my story in hopes of urging all women to get their mammograms, update friends and family on my status and connect with anyone having questions about breast cancer.  I have become a reluctant expert on the subject!  :)   I sincerely thank you for  visiting my page and am so very grateful for all of your thoughts and prayers!    Keep them coming!