Shannon’s Story

Shannon Hampton’s mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995; she fought her hardest for 21 years. Because of her family history, Shannon was always curious about her risk for breast cancer.

In spring of 2018, Shannon was contacted by Risk Assessment and Prevention Program (RAPP) at the UMC Cancer Center. She set up an appointment to complete genetic testing, and she received a phone call when the results came back to meet with a genetic counselor to discuss.

Shannon, and her sister, Kasey, have the CHECK2 mutation. This means Shannon is double as likely to develop breast cancer, and if she were to have breast cancer, her body likely wouldn’t fight it well.

She went to an appointment with the head oncologist with the Cancer Prevention Program at the UMC Cancer Center, with the support of her father and Kasey, to discuss her genetic results in depth. She was then given some choices and next steps: 1. Monitor through yearly mammograms and MRIs, 2. Chemoprevention, 3. Have a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy.

Shannon chose to closely monitor through yearly mammograms and MRIs, as she has a desire to have biological children and to breastfeed. Keeping a close watch empowers Shannon to prevent with early detection!

With personalized care and advanced treatment, Texas Tech Physicians and UMC’s Risk Assessment and Prevention Program (RAPP) equipped both Shannon, and her sister, to make their own preventative choices. Shannon chose to be a warrior against cancer, just like her mom.