Sterling woman’s cancer diagnosis propels her to change course, earn counseling degree: ‘Just do the thing’

STERLING — In 2017, Starr Shamp noticed a lump in her breast but did not think much of it. One year later, she was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.

But since that time, Shamp has not only balanced cancer treatments, her wedding, pregnancy and the premature birth of her son, she also successfully finished graduate school and earned a degree that will allow her to help others who find themselves trying to cope in the throes of illness.

The inspirational journey that carried her to her dreams also included another major milestone – the opportunity to give a commencement speech and share her story of hope at her June graduation from Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska.

“Being up there and being able to tell my story and give people hope was fantastic,” Shamp said. “Sometimes all people need is just a little bit of hope that they’re doing something right. That’s what I wanted my message to be. Just do the thing. No matter how you have to do it, just do it because it’s your thing.”

Shamp was in her early 20s at the time she discovered the lump, deciding not to pay any more attention to it.

“I didn’t get it checked because of my age,” Shamp said. “Being young, you just never think that it’s going to be something serious and at that time, I had been working out a lot and thought that maybe it’s just some muscle growth or something.”

The next year she realized it had grown and her skin had started “dimpling,” a change that makes it look pitted or uneven, similar to an orange peel. Dimpling can be a warning sign of breast cancer, particularly inflammatory breast cancer, and happens when lymph vessels become blocked.

Although dimpling can also be caused by non-cancerous conditions, the change was alarming enough to prompt Shamp to have the lump checked. On May 9, 2018, she received a diagnosis that would forever change her life – stage 4 breast cancer.

“It was kind of surreal because you never think you’re going to be that person,” Shamp said. “We all know that cancer is everywhere and a lot of people get it, but being so young, I thought there’s no way that’s what it is. It’s probably going to be a cyst or some sort of benign growth. But then we found out it was stage 4, and it had spread to my liver.”

The news came at a point in Shamp’s life where “a lot of really good things were happening.” She had recently started a new job at HALO Branded Solutions in Sterling and was in the process of buying a home. Despite the shock of her diagnosis, Shamp did not let it completely derail her life.

“I was still able to work. Halo was an incredible support system,” Shamp said, noting that although she was not yet eligible for job protections like the Family and Medical Leave Act, the company made accommodations so she could continue receiving regularly scheduled chemotherapy treatments without fear of losing her job.

Shamp began chemotherapy June 14, 2018, just one day after her birthday, receiving treatments every three weeks through September. From there, she transitioned into six weeks of radiation, but treatment never fully stopped.

“I went on a maintenance chemo after that,” Shamp explained. “They just removed one of the drugs from my initial regimen.”

The ongoing maintenance therapy was designed to target the specific protein fueling her cancer, keeping the disease under control.

At the time, surgery was not part of the plan. Because Shamp’s cancer was already stage 4 and had spread, current guidelines suggested that surgery would not significantly improve survival outcomes.

“They just didn’t do it for stage 4 patients,” Shamp said. “The thinking was that it wouldn’t make a difference since it was already in the body.”

But everything changed in January 2019 when a scan showed something remarkable: There was no longer any visible cancer in the breast. With that unexpected news, Shamp’s care team reconsidered surgery. She was referred back to the surgeon, who agreed to operate, leading to her initial mastectomy with reconstructive surgery.

Throughout her treatments, Shamp often reflected on her future. What she discovered was that while she remained focused on trying to survive, the world around her had moved on.

“After a while, especially with stage 4, it feels like people forget,” Shamp said. ”They get used to you having cancer, and the check-ins, the outreach, it just kind of stops.”

That sense of being overlooked, even while still navigating the emotional and physical toll of the disease, ultimately motivated Shamp to return to school in August 2021 to pursue a career in counseling.

“When I was in high school, I wanted to pursue a psychology-related field but I didn’t have the confidence to do it,” Shamp admitted. “I pivoted and went to school for event planning. But after the diagnosis and living through it, that’s when I was like, ‘You know what? This is what I really want to do, and I can do it.”

In January 2021, Shamp got married. By the end of that same year, she became pregnant. But what should have been a joyful and hope-filled chapter brought new challenges.

“I had a recurrence during my pregnancy,” Shamp said. “I was about six months pregnant when I found a little lump in my neck.”

Due to concerns about imaging that could affect the baby, Shamp’s doctors waited before proceeding with diagnostics. Eventually, a biopsy confirmed the same type of cancer had returned.

Shamp’s care team made the difficult decision to induce labor early so she could resume treatment.

“They wanted to go ahead and get me delivered so they could get me back on chemotherapy,” Shamp said.

Her son, Harrison, was born about six weeks premature and spent several weeks in a Rockford neonatal intensive care unit.

“That was a really difficult time, trying to navigate all of that,” Shamp said. ”But we got through it with the help of our family and friends.”

Defying the odds – the American Cancer Society reports that only 32% of women diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer survive beyond five years – Shamp stood proudly on stage at Bellevue University on June 7, having earned her master’s degree. She delivered the commencement speech to her graduating class.

Despite her success, Shamp admitted it took “a lot of therapy” to come to terms with her diagnosis and realize that cancer did not mean she had to stop chasing her dreams.

“At one point, it just felt like it wasn’t worth it, like I should just do whatever because I don’t know how long I’m going to live,” Shamp said. “But I had to reframe that and try to understand that I could still live and I would regret looking back and knowing that I wasted a bunch of time, that I could have done something I really wanted to do and didn’t just because I was scared.”

She said the experience has transformed the way she thinks.

“This has opened my eyes and let me know that there’s really nothing to be afraid of,” Shamp said. “Everybody might not like you or appreciate what you have to say, but at the end of the day, you have to worry about what you’re doing and what impact you’re putting out there. If people don’t like that, it’s fine. You have to accept that and be able to continue moving forward with what your goals are.”