For 39 year old mother of two, Shannon Storey, a regular check-up in November 2014 changed her life forever. Shannon was a grade 12 teacher at Chestermere High School and is loved by all those she taught and worked with and when a diagnosis of breast cancer was delivered to her, all those around her stepped up to support her.
“The whole thing was actually very surreal. I didn’t believe that anything was actually going to be wrong with me. It started with the typical lump was found and from there the whole experience seem to be very fast. A month or two before the lump was found, there had been nothing there – so it was very quick. I was immediately sent for a mammogram and for an ultrasound and during the ultrasound they asked me to stick around and they were going to biopsy right away…and then I knew, ok…. Something could actually be wrong”.
Following that biopsy, Shannon says that a request for a surgeon went in immediately, despite the medical staff not being able to tell her for sure if it was cancer or not at that point. “The next day I was called in to see my family doctors office and was told to bring my husband with me, so I knew that it probably wasn’t going to be good news – that was November 21, 2014”.
Shannon says that on the very night of receiving her diagnosis, she called the Chestermere High School Principal, Jordan Fenton, as she had to work the next day and although she wanted to go to work, she was unsure of how raw her emotion might be and felt it the responsible thing to do was to get him up to speed. “I worked as though nothing was wrong. In my call the night before with Jordan, he right away said ‘we will do everything we can to support you’ and ‘you let us know how you want to share the news or not share the news’. I told the staff after school on the next Tuesday which was very difficult – but they filled me with so much love and support that it became a lot easier to not have to bear that alone. A lot of hugs and a lot of ‘we’re here for you’. The next day, I decided I would tell my students myself. I had all grade 12’s so I told one of the classes – I couldn’t even look at them. I had a very great and close relationship with this particular group of students and I knew some of them had experience with cancer in their families and I was nervous about saying it and then that it would bring up feelings about parents, siblings, and things that they had gone thorough in their own lives. I did cry…. And so did some of the students”.
Shannon goes on to say that what happened next she couldn’t never have imagined. As she had that emotional discussion with her early morning class, by noon – without her telling anyone else – her classroom began to fill with flowers. “By the end of day, my classroom was filled with flowers. Kids just kept coming by and bringing me flowers, or a card. I had a couple girls that brought me a Starbucks and on the little label read ‘Kick Its Ass’. I was just completely overwhelmed with everything and in such a good way”.
Shannon worked her last day on December 5th 2014 as her surgery for a mastectomy was quickly scheduled for December 10th. On the day of her surgery, there was a flurry of Twitter activity to show support for Shannon with #storeystrong blowing up all over with wishes of good luck and love for this much loved teacher. It was also reported that everyone at the school wore pink on that day to show their support for Shannon.
Following Shannon’s surgery, she described the road to recovery as difficult and said that the emotionally side was worse than the physical aspect. “With women and our body image, it was very hard”. Shannon also went on to explain that all the exercises and such that she had to go through was nothing compared to enduring the six rounds of chemotherapy saying that the first few rounds she was able to bounce back fairly quickly but the last few treatments were ‘horrific’. “It was during this time that my husband (Doug Heffer) actually wrote a book for our children as I was so terrified of them seeing me get sick and weak that we needed a way to explain the sickness and my hair coming out and all of that to them”. Shannon’s young children, only ages 3 and 6, were no doubt quite concerned and scared for their mom, but Shannon gives much credit to her husband during all of this experience for keeping things running smoothly and caring for their young children. The book, respectfully called, “Mommy Duck Loses Her Feathers”, has since been published and is available on Amazon. The book has another Chestermere connection as a former student of Shannon’s at Chestermere High School, Rylea Walker, illustrated the book.
Shannon’s chemotherapy finished in May and then she went through radiation in June and July. “My now looks good. I still feel quite fatigued but I’m doing really well. I am on hormone therapy which will force me into menopause. I have asked my doctors if I am considered cancer free at this point – but I believe you have to stay clear for 2 years before they will consider you cancer free. I am not worried about recurrence – that is not how I’m going to live my life”.
Although the worst does seem to be behind her and as her students encouraged ‘kicked its ass’, I asked Shannon what words of advice she had for people that find themselves going through this or having someone close to them going through it. “For the people that want to help someone going through cancer, I would say just do. Don’t wait for the person to ask for help or ask what can you do…..just step in and do something. The best things for me were offers of ‘hey can your kids come over and have a playdate so you and your husband can have some time alone’, or a friend just showing up with tea and sitting with me on the couch. I didn’t know how to ask for help and as women, we tend to not ask for that help”.
To the people that have just been diagnosed, Shannon says, “Don’t get wrapped up in the statistics. They (medical advances) are getting so much better but the statistics are based on details from a few years ago so the information might not be that accurate that you’re reading. When I first heard the statistics, I was terrified. Keep that positive outlook and make sure you have a strong support system and take your time. I was sometimes in a rush to heal and I needed to listen to my body and know that I wasn’t ready yet”.
Going through something like this would in no doubt change a person’s outlook on life and way they see things. “I try to be more present and more in the moment instead of always planning everything far in advance. If my kids are playing and we’re doing stuff together I really try and suck it all in as I don’t want to miss anything….I want to remember THIS. Rather than planning ahead to what I have to do later, I just take it all in and I notice that I’m getting better at that. I took my dog for a walk the other day and I probably looked like an idiot but I just stopped and stood there and looked up at the trees and the leaves and just wanted to enjoy every minute of it. Everything is beautiful again. I was also way too hard on myself about everything before…. way too hard on myself. Even before I was sick, I was critical of my mothering skills, by teaching skills… and since being sick I’m learning that I’m doing a good job and I’ll do a good job tomorrow”.
Shannon continues her road to full recovery and is planning on returning to teaching grade 12 at Chestermere High School in the second semester.
