35. Talk with Sherri Lee - Things We Can Never Figure Out On Our Own...

I wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to my most recent Podcast guest, Sherri Lee. I’ve had the tremendous pleasure of following Sherri’s postings on IG since the beginning of the year. My goodness, Sherri is an amazing Breast Cancer Survivor, Digital Creator and upcoming Author!!!! YES, SIS!!!! Sherri was initially diagnosed in 2022. She was very vigilant about doing her monthly self-breast exams!!! That was the basis of her journey. She was 38 years old at the time. She got the “you are too young speech twice”! Her first Provider felt what she felt but didn’t order any mammogram.

She sought a second opinion from another Provider, went in for that visit at the VA Med Center, and that Provider ordered the mammogram. She felt the lump was moving, but she wanted to know. Her mammogram was done and immediately, she knew they saw something. Next, she was told she would get a Breast Ultrasound, and Sherri could tell from the particular area of focus that there was something. She was told that there was a lot of uncommon findings, typically found in older woman or women with breast cancer. She ended up getting the biopsy scheduled for 2 weeks later. In the meantime, Sherri went on vacation in the Bahamas and the news comes on MyChart and she opened it said, “malignant carcinoma”. She didn’t hear the “cancer” word until she got the call 2 hours later while at work.

Sherri's initial biopsy showed DCIS (Stage 0), but because of the size of the lump, she didn’t have lumpectomy as an option. Subsequently, she had an MRI biopsy on her left breast. Needless to say, she ended up having a double mastectomy in November 2022, same week as Thanksgiving. BUT IT WASN’T OVER! The surgical pathology from the double mastectomy showed a second type of cancer – Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC). It was determined to be Stage 2 IDC, but with unclear margins. WHAT? She ended up having her second surgery at the end of December 2022.

At that point, the surgical pathology showed HER-2 positive AND Hormone (Estrogen and Progesterone-Receptor) Positive (i.e., TRIPLE POSITIVE Breast Cancer). She had her implanted port placed in January 2023 and had 16 weekly rounds of Taxol (with hair loss by the 4th treatment). She also had Herceptin every week with her chemo and just finished Herceptin on April 29th, 2024!!!!! She remains on Tamoxifen and is deeply grateful to God for continuing to preserve her life and create beautiful experiences from this trajectory! You got this, sis!!!!!!

Please don’t forget to check Sherri out as she continues to host the PODCAST @coffeestainedlips_podcast. My dear sister also has a BLOG (https://www.instagram.com/heybreastfriends/) where she continues to amplify the Voice of Black Women in the Fight Against Breast Cancer!

“Things You Could Never Figure Out on Your Own;   Jeremiah 33:1-9. 1 “While Jeremiah was still locked up in jail, a second Message from God was given to him: 2-3 “This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’ 4-5 “This is what God, the God of Israel, has to say about what’s going on in this city, about the homes of both people and kings that have been demolished, about all the ravages of war and the killing by the Chaldeans, and about the streets littered with the dead bodies of those killed because of my raging anger—about all that’s happened because the evil actions in this city have turned my stomach in disgust. 6-9 “But now take another look. I’m going to give this city a thorough renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them life whole, life brimming with blessings. I’ll restore everything that was lost to Juda