Desperately Trying To Prevent Breast Cancer Recurrence, ‘Home Edit’ Star Clea Shearer, 42, Will Do ‘Whatever It Takes Amid 6th Surgery Since Diagnosis

Shearer co-hosted the Netflix series “Get Organized with The Home Edit” and founded a home organization company, “The Home Edit.” In addition to her television and entrepreneurial pursuits, her notoriety grew when she went public with her breast cancer diagnosis in March 2022.

Shearer, a mother of two, has brought along supportive fans for her breast cancer journey. Her latest step in treatment, she says, is removing her ovaries – through a procedure called an oophorectomy – so she would no longer need monthly infusions.

“Surgically removing the ovaries induces a drop in estrogen levels similar to what occurs in menopause,” which affects cancers that feed on the estrogen hormone, the National Cancer Institute says.

Shearer said her surgery “went very well,” and recovery involves a little pain, but it’s manageable.

 

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“For the time being, my uterus is staying put. She’s behaving, and removal doesn’t really impact my risk of recurrence,” Shearer said.

“I’d love to say my surgery days are behind me, but I’ll be back in November for lucky number seven!”

Coping With the Risk of Recurrence Amid Breast Cancer

Shearer noted how she’s willing to do what it takes to reduce her chance of breast cancer recurrence.

“Once a patient has finished his or her active therapy for breast cancer, we will often refer to that time as breast cancer survivorship,” says Dr. Erica Mayer, a breast cancer medical oncologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

“This is a time when patients are still being actively monitored by their treatment team, not only to ensure that they remain healthy and cancer-free in the years ahead, but also to make sure that they have recovered from any side effects of their initial treatment, and that they are pursuing healthy behaviors for example, getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and keeping up with all their other routine medical care.”

To reduce the chances of recurrence, patients are urged to:

Follow their treatment guidelines

• Limit alcohol
• Eat a healthy diet
• Exercise
• Maintain a healthy weight

Clea’s Cancer Journey

Shearer’s cancer journey began early last year after discovering a lump.

“I found a lump myself (in) the last week of February,” Shearer posted to Instagram.

“I had been trying to make an appt with my OB(GYN) for several months, and even when I told them I found a lump, they couldn’t accommodate me. I had to request a mammogram from my general doctor, which led to an ultrasound and then an emergency triple biopsy,” she added.

She would later be diagnosed with breast cancer, but the popular star chose to share the intimate news with her millions of followers on social media. She was initially told her cancer was stage 1, but during the nine-hour surgery in April 2022, doctors found cancer in one of her lymph nodes, which elevated the cancer to stage 2.

Shearer was diagnosed with “aggressive and fast-moving” breast cancer, but she thankfully “caught it early.”

She had two tumors, one measuring 2 centimeters in size and the other 3 centimeters.

WATCH: Treatment for early-stage breast cancers.

Early-stage breast cancer means that there’s a small tumor in the breast and that there are no lymph nodes affected.

“For stage one breast cancer, the first step is to remove the cancer. If a woman needs a lumpectomy, most often, she will have radiation after that.

“In some instances, depending on her age, she may not need radiation,” she added.

“Depending on the size and other features such as family history, a patient may opt for more aggressive surgery. So even for an early stage 1 breast cancer, a woman may elect a mastectomy to remove her whole breast. Then, once that surgery happens, a pathologist is able to look at that tissue underneath the microscope and decide what treatment a woman needs after the surgery has removed it.”

Shearer underwent treatment, which included a double mastectomy.

WATCH: Understanding a double mastectomy.

Shearer’s treatment also included both chemotherapy and radiation. During chemotherapy, patients receive cancer-killing drugs either orally or intravenously. Radiation therapy is also aimed at killing cancer cells, except it’s administered using high-energy X-ray beams aimed at cancer cells.

Shearer’s first round of chemotherapy occurred in May 2022. However, a common side effect of chemotherapy is hair loss, and the reality TV star also experienced it during this emotional phase of the journey.

“Very short hair, and really don’t care,” she wrote in an Instagram post about a week after cutting all her hair off. “This first round of chemo has been a lot, both physically and mentally. It wiped me out for a few days, but it makes the good days feel that much better.”

WATCH: Coping With Hair Loss & the Anxiety it Brings.

Chemotherapy can cause hair loss. It usually begins about three to four weeks after starting chemotherapy and continues throughout treatment.

This happens because this treatment targets quickly dividing cells throughout the body, including cancer cells and hair cells.

Radiation is another treatment that can lead to hair loss if the hair is in the path of the tumor being treated. Radiation for a brain tumor, for example, may cause hair loss.

“If you do lose hair, it will regrow several weeks or months after treatment,” radiation oncologist Dr. James Taylor told SurvivorNet. “Fortunately, for most patients, hair loss is not a concern when having radiation therapy.”

Fortunately, hair loss during cancer treatment is not all bad news. Most people can expect regrowth four to six weeks after treatment. However, when your hair grows back, you may notice some changes in its color and texture.

If losing your hair is a concern for you before cancer treatment, know you have options like wigs, hats, wraps, and scarves, among other things.

In November 2022, Shearer revealed she was “cancer free”; however, she still copes with survivorship.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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