Supporting Macee as she battles Breast Cancer

When I think of breast cancer, I think of              women over 50...women like me. Never in a    million years did I ever think that my 26 year   old daughter would be battling breast cancer.  No matter how many times I hear the words    “your daughter has an extremely aggressive     type of breast cancer - invasive ductal                  carcinoma-triple negative,” I still just cannot    believe that it is real. How can a 26 year old     have not one, but two cancerous tumors in her breast?


For Macee, this is all very real. Her life is on      pause for now, she has to gather all of her          strength and resources in order to beat this     stupid cancer. I wanted to write something to share her story with you, but I believe that      Macee’s own words are so honest and                  empowering.....




“Hello world. 

I am here to share my story, not for your           sympathy, but to finally accept this                       nightmare that is,in fact, my reality. My hope is to spread awareness to others. My name is Macee, I am 26 years old, and on 10/8/2020,  I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.




On 9/12/2020, I discovered a lump on my left breast. My initial thoughts were “what is           this? Is this breast cancer? Is this really              happening?” but I tried to stay optimistic and not fall too deep in searching the internet for answers. Most of the information that I did     find stated that it was most likely a                       fibroadenoma-a noncancerous breast tumor very common in young women-and that I’m   “too young” to have breast cancer. My doctor, the ultrasound technician, the biopsy doctor, and all the nurses I encountered between        9/12/20 and 10/8/20, all believed it would be a fibroadenoma. However, I knew that I            NEEDED to be 100% sure,  so I kept pushing  and advocating for myself to get that 100%   positive diagnosis that this lump was truly in fact a fibroadenoma. I’m glad that I never         stopped pushing. I could have said “okay, if     you think it’s nothing then don’t worry about it, I’ll call back if it doesn’t go away.” I could     have listened to all the doctors beliefs. I            could have left it alone and forgot about it. I  am so glad that I did not.



On 10/8/2020, my doctor was standing in my  special education Pre-K classroom to give me my results. My doctor came to my work.!! As soon as I saw him I knew it was not going to   be good news. He told me that I had                      “infiltrating ductal carcinoma”, better known as IDC.  I was in shock. When we called my    mom to tell her together, I was still in shock. But this was only the beginning of my                 horrible nightmare.




On 10/12/20, I saw the surgeon to discuss     what my breast cancer was and the                     procedure  that needed to be done. However, at this appointment, my surgeon found             another lump. It was a bigger, deeper lump,    one that I could barely feel. Due to the               discovery of this lump, the procedure that     was originally planned (a lumpectomy), was   no longer going to happen. We were now          looking at a mastectomy of my left breast       and beginning chemotherapy. However, we     still had to wait for the test results.




On 10/14/20, I had a breast MRI and a CT        scan. Then on 10/16/20, I had the 2nd lump   biopsied,  17 lymphnodes removed, and my   portacath put in. Even after being poked,         prodded, and having a foreign object placed  under my skin that ends just above my heart, I was still in denial. I still could not fathom       that I had Breast Cancer. I am only 26, I’m       healthy, I wasn’t sick, I felt “normal”, and yet  here I am. The unknown is the worst. Not        knowing what type of surgery I am having.     Not knowing what type of chemo I will be        taking. Not knowing what to do for my job.   Not knowing what to do for my life.




On 10/21/20 I received the results for the      2nd lump, which is now known as my 2nd          tumor. It is also IDC and is a triple negative     breast cancer, which in simple terms means   extremely aggressive. I was also told that on  the Nottingham scale (scale of                                 aggressiveness, 0 being least aggressive, 9      being the most aggressive) I am a 9. A 9!!??!! Fear and  disbelief are the emotions I feel the most. I  cannot believe this is happening. My doctors also cannot believe this is happening,                 especially because the genetic test for the      breast cancer gene came back as negative.     Therefore, my doctors call my tumors “really bad luck tumors.”




On top of all of this, I am currently                        undergoing fertility treatments to harvest      and freeze my eggs because the chemo              treatment I will be receiving will most likely  cause infertility. I only get one chance to do    this because they want me to start chemo      ASAP due to the aggressiveness of the               tumors. I will be starting chemo on 11/10/20, which is 2 days after they harvest my eggs,     and exactly 2 days after 1 month of                      discovering that I have breast cancer.




As I said in the beginning, I am not sharing my story for your sympathy. I do not need any    more “I am sorrys” - what I need is words of   encouragement. Recommendations for            books, movies and songs that motivate you    to fight! Because that’s what I will be doing.     I’m going to fight. I’m going to fight as hard as I possibly can because this treacherous              journey that I am about to embark on will not be easy.




Breast Cancer typically occurs in 1 out of 8   woman over 50. When you’re in your 20s, it is 1 out 1,732, or less than 5 percent of all cases. Throughout my journey thus far, I have met  too many other women with similar stories    as mine. To where they were also told it was  nothing and we are too young. We are not       too young!! Breast Cancer happens to              women in their 20s. It IS happening to              women in their 20s. Mammograms and self    breast exams need to begin in our 20s, not     our 40s. Early detection saves lives they say,  so why are we waiting until it’s too late to       begin prevention?!




I know I will be okay. I know this will not be    easy, but I know I will come out of this fight    better and stronger than ever. These photos are the “good,” the bad, and the ugly of breast cancer. I say “good” because I took these          photos when I thought I was going to have a mastectomy and I wanted to remember my   body as it was. I wanted to honor my body for all that it has done for me in my 26 years of      life and all that it has pushed through for me. I love my body and I am devastated for the      changes that it will undergo, but I wanted to highlight it for what it was one last time. The bad is just the beginning of the surgeries that I will undergo. The ugly is just the beginning  of the side effects my body will have from       surgeries, and don’t even get me started on    the side effects of chemo. This is just the          beginning. I will continue to share my story to document the journey, to spread awareness for Breast Cancer in hopes to encourage             others to advocate for themselves, and to        always remind you to SELF-CHECK YOUR      BREASTS!!!!”







Sadly, life for all of us that love her also                stopped on October 8th: for me, my husband, her father, her sisters and brothers, her nieces and nephew, her aunts and uncles, her cousins, her friends, her coworkers, her students, and her loving boyfriend Conor and his amazing      family. So many lives that have been touched  by this incredible young woman!!!




I was waiting anxiously for that phone call-the call that would tell me everything was ok-that the lump had turned out to be nothing. I               remember hearing her voice and asking if she was ok....she said “kind of” and then her voice broke...she told me that she had breast cancer and then put the doctor on the phone. My       memory of that call is hazy...I was in complete and utter shock. I still am.




Over the past few weeks, we have made the    hour and a half drive to Idaho Falls (this is the closest location for cancer care) numerous        times for doctor’s appointments, scans, and     surgery. Thankfully, the cancer hasn’t spread   to her lymph nodes, so she is considered to      have Stage 2 breast cancer. Due to the size of her two separate tumors and the fact that she is triple negative, she must undergo a                   combination of chemotherapy and                          immunotherapy for four months. The type of  surgery to follow will be dependent on how      the tumors react to the treatments. I will be     staying here to help her win this fight for her     life.




For those of you that know Macee, I don’t          need to tell you how her smile and laughter     have the ability to brighten even the darkest   of days. She is so generous and caring. Since     she was very young, she always knew that she wanted to work with children with disabilities. She has been a special education teacher at     Teton School District for the past three years. Few people exist that are as dedicated to           children as Macee is. Unfortunately,                      chemotherapy will severely weaken her               immune system, so she will be unable to work with her kids while receiving treatment.




Macee hasn’t had a chance to live her life yet. She hasn’t had a chance to have her own              family yet. She’s such a brave, beautiful young woman. She left home when she was only 22...right after she finished her masters degree in  special education. She moved 2500 miles          away from home, to Teton Valley Idaho, for a    job that was only supposed to last a year.

Well, the job didn’t work out, but she fell in        love with the natural beauty of the mountains and the kindhearted people that Teton Valley has to offer. That was a little over four years    ago.




My hope in sharing Macee’s story is that we     will be able to raise funds to help cover the       costs of the numerous medical treatments and living expenses that are certain to follow..           fertility treatments are not covered by                 insurance. She needs to focus on healing, not  on finances.


Macee has roommates that she will not be        safe to be around during chemotherapy, so we are going to have to move her to a location       more suitable for rest and healing-and try not to worry about being exposed to Covid. This is a great fear for all cancer patients.




Macee has been so brave through all of this,     far braver than I. I never thought that I could    love her more or be more proud of her than I   already was-I am in awe of her strength and     beauty. She is a true gem, and our ridiculous,   crazy family can’t imagine a single day without her.

Thank you so much for the love, prayers, and   support through the most difficult journey        that Macee and our family have ever faced.



Please, even if you can not give a monetary       contribution at this time, please take a               moment to support Macee by sharing this         page and her story with all of your loved ones. Let’s show Macee just how many people’s lives she has touched and how we will all raise her  up during this temporary storm she is fighting.