Sheridan Needs Us: Stage 4 Cancer Battle

Please consider helping Sheridan who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Going through treatment she is unable to work and is on her own for financial support. Any amount helps!

here is Sheridan’s story in her own words:

My Breast Cancer Journey

Hi friends,

When I first heard the words "I believe it to be cancer," after I showed the immediate care nurse practitioner my breast, my world was turned upside down. It was the kind of news you never expected to hear, and my response was “Okay, that’s fine”. I have lived with cancer, with both my parents passing away from it so I am used to all the terminology involved with the treatment, but it’s a whirlwind when it’s now you. The timing wasn’t the best with my mom and I both having cancer at the same time for a little while, or me just turning 26. But everything happens for a reason; sometimes it is what it is. This diagnosis of breast cancer doesn’t define me- it empowers me.

Everything moved very fast in my case. October 19, 2024, is when I went into the immediate care in McHenry, and they sent me right down to Lutheran General in Park Ridge. I had a CAT scan on that Saturday, and the breast specialist was going to call me for an appointment on that Monday, October 21st. I didn’t have the vaguest idea what they were going to do at that appointment, but once they looked at my breast, they just did a biopsy. With the way my breast presented itself, there was no need for an ultrasound, and there was no way they were going to do a mammogram. By Thursday, October 24, I was both diagnosed and had my treatment plan of what the next year was going to look like. I have Stage 4 metastatic Her2 positive breast cancer. It had moved to be lymph nodes in my left arm and also a spot on my 6th right rib. Then, I had a bone scan to see if it was anywhere else in my bones, and the answer was no. I had an echocardiogram to look at my heart before chemo started to have a baseline. And then, I had a chemo port put in on October 30th. The first round of chemo was on November 4th. All in 17 days, my life changed forever.

It took a while to come back after the October 24th appointment; I also had genetic testing done. It was found that I have two gene mutations: P53 and BRIP1. These are from germline (sex cells), so they are in all my cells. P53 is tumor cancer-causing and presents itself about my age range of 25 to 26. And then BRIP1 is a breast cancer mutation that also gives me the risk of a 5 to 15 percent chance of cervical cancer.

At this time, everything was focused on my left breast, but then my right breast and armpit really started to bother me. I thought it was just the port healing, which some of it may have been, but it didn’t feel right, and the breast was starting to look different, but different compared to the left. On December 18, I had a mammogram on my right breast and an ultrasound. And a biopsy on December 30th, which then indicated that I had Her2 negative in my right breast. So basically, I have the same cancer in both breasts but different variates because, of course, I do. Knowing the diagnosis of the right breast doesn’t change the treatment plan that has been put in place, just signifies that a double mastectomy is necessary.

Breast cancer didn’t just challenge my body; it tested my spirit. But it also revealed a strength I never knew I had. I found courage in the small victories—the days I felt like myself again, the moments I could laugh, the days I could breathe without the weight of fear.

I’m still here. I’m thriving. I’m a survivor.

Today, I’m sharing my story not just to honor my journey, but to raise awareness for other young girls and that it can happen to anyone. I didn’t have any other family members who have had breast cancer, let alone at such a young age. If something looks or feels wrong with your breasts, get them checked out, you never know what it could be. But checking it earlier rather than later can make all the difference.