Staying the Course Through Cancer
- Anne with an E star Miranda McKeon was diagnosed with breast cancer in June at age 19.
- McKeon shares her outlook with SurvivorNet on this new journey as she heads back to Los Angeles to begin her sophomore year of college at the University of Southern California in the middle of her cancer treatment.
- It is crucial to find a support system at any age when dealing with this disease, but young women especially need to feel the sisterhood of support in their community, as another survivor tells us.
Not letting her diagnosis stop her from living her life, she intends to hightail it through this journey as she navigates heading back to Los Angeles for her sophomore year of college at the University of Southern California smack dab in the middle of cancer treatment.
Read More“Dating and boys and college and parties are definitely things that have been at the top of my thoughts through this whole process,” McKeon admits. “Obviously, hair loss is a big thing through all of this, and I'm curious how that will affect me going back to school with my peers … but I've kind of realized that everyone's minds are a bit malleable around us in that whatever narrative I'm putting out there.”
McKeon says that if she’s going out to a party, she can show confidence and show her strength and other fun pieces of her personality, then that's how people will view her.
“I have great comfort in knowing I have control of my own narrative,” the stylish student says. “Especially when it comes to boys and college and any of those normal topics that any 19-year-old with cancer would think about.”
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“So that's kind of been my outlook going through this,” she adds. “Taking some of that uncertainty and lack of control back and knocking it out with confidence.”
Staying Positive
Overall, McKeon’s glass half-full approach has been working for her, though it is understandably unrealistic for her to act like she is un-phased by all of this, which would not be authentic for her to present while sharing her story.
“For the most part, I think I've been a positivity machine,” McKeon tells us. “Honestly, it's expected and would be strange if I didn't have dark days. I think on the days where stuff gets really challenging, I really do rely on friends and family to cheer me up. I've had tons of long conversations with my mom about natural fears throughout this whole process, but I have a really great support system surrounding me, which I think is critical for anyone going through something like this.”
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McKeon has completed four rounds of chemotherapy and has four more to go, followed by surgery and radiation.
“I'm proud of myself for reaching out when I've been having a tough time and letting the people around me help me because that's not always easy, so that's kind of how I manage the tougher days when I feel overwhelmed by the size of this whole process.”
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Adult Decisions at a Young Age
One of the toughest parts of this process for the actor has been having to do family planning at a time when she should be going to parties with her sorority sisters; She had to freeze her eggs prior to starting chemo as a precaution, since treatment can affect a woman’s fertility.
“It was definitely difficult I guess, especially because of my age,” McKeon admits. “I feel like so many things have come up during this process that I never thought I would have to think about in terms of family planning. I think that was a bit of an initial shock.”
Luckily, she got the hang of it pretty quickly. “Obviously in the beginning it's super counter-intuitive to be injecting yourself,” she says. She had her mom, Jill, help her at first, but then took it into her own hands as she wanted to be out with friends going to dinner and not having to be at home every single night.
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“It was a challenging process, but one I'm proud to say that I went through, and I'd like to encourage others to do the same if that's something that is possible and available to them.”
An Obscure Gene Mutation
McKeon reveals that she has a lesser talked about gene mutation.
“I do not have the BRCA gene, I do have the CHEK2 gene mutation, which is not necessarily as strong as the BRCA gene [mutation] but has potentially played a role into the cause of my diagnosis,” McKeon shares. “Yeah, CHEK2 is a little bit more of an obscure gene mutation I'd say.”
CHEK2 is the abbreviated name of the checkpoint kinase 2 gene. According to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, when CHEK2 is mutated, or when the DNA acquires an error, it is unable to do its normal job, which leads to cell division that is “characteristic of cancer.”
CHEK2 mutations are found in breast, colon, prostate, kidney and thyroid cancers. They’ve also been found in some brain tumors and in bone cancer.
Jill McKeon explains more about CHEK2. “With the CHEK2 gene, you have about a 24% chance of getting breast cancer at some point,” she says. “BRCA is more like 70 something [percent], but yeah it has likely played a role into why she has breast cancer.”
Related: What is a BRCA Mutation?
This is why it is important to get tested for a fuller spectrum of genetic mutations and not just BRCA 1 and 2, which are only predictors for breast and ovarian cancers.
McKeon’s College Plans
McKeon’s mother will be out in California during her daughter’s college semester. Miranda will be living with three roommates in an off-campus apartment.
“I look up to my mom a lot. I think she's paved the way for incredible emotional availability and strength,” McKeon says. “She is a yoga teacher, and she used to be a midwife, and she sort of helped me kickstart my journaling a bit. And she's really been my rock through this whole thing.”
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McKeon will be studying communications, and has been getting more into writing.
“There's a poetry class that's a requirement that I'm super giddy about. I'm glad there will be something else that will be occupying my time. I think summer break was a great bit of timeyou know, I had a lot of space to process the diagnosis, and I think I have a better handle on everything now and I'm excited to kind of have a bit of a distraction this semester.”
She thinks that her cancer fight and journaling will be “super influential in terms of career path.”
McKeon wants to get back to acting as well. “I'm taking a little break right now, because life is a little hectic right now in terms of scheduling stuff. I'm looking forward to getting back out there and auditioning for roles and all that.”
Finding Support
The most helpful thing for McKeon while going through her journey so far is finding other young women her age with cancer on her social media channels who have gone through the same type of cancer and treatment plan.
“Seeing these women get through to the other side and making jokes along the way and showing that they're okay makes me feel okay. I've made a lot of friends in the cancer community who have helped me through this who are on the other side. Friends who are currently undergoing treatment, and really, reaching out to the community really has helped me immensely and was something I was super hesitant on in the beginning, but has really been one of my greatest helpful things to tell people.”
Related: Actress Shannen Doherty's Sisterhood of Support During Breast Cancer Fight Is Everything
We spoke with survivor Mindy Miller, a stage 2 breast cancer survivor, who says that anyone who has experienced this disease knows that it changes “everything we know and we lose control of so much,” Miller, whose outlook is very similar to McKeon’s, tells SurvivorNet.
“The one thing we can control, is how we exist in this community,” she continues. “Choosing kindness and encouragement and building foundations of love and support.”
Miller has since found healing within her community and healing within mentorship.
“Guiding other women who are newly diagnosed, that’s where we build solidarity,” she says. ” And through solidarity, we feel support, and through support, we don’t feel alone anymore.”
Showing Support When it Matters Most
Choosing What’s Best For You During Cancer
While it’s beyond inspiring and admirable for McKeon to go back to school and not let her plans get knocked down from this disease, it is also more than okay to listen to your body and determine what may be best for you when going through a similar situation with cancer or other illness. Everyone’s battle is different and taking a break is okay. Many young people feel pressured to finish school but postponing plans for a year or so is okay too. Whatever makes the process more tolerable for you is key.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
