Miranda McKeon Started Her Cancer Journey In June
- Miranda McKeon, the star of the Netflix show Anne With an E, started the seventh of her eight rounds of chemo this week in her breast cancer battle
- The 19-year-old college student has chronicled her experience on social media, and its week spoke about her concerns for her own mental health
- Experts encourage cancer patients to seek out social workers or a therapist to help with their mental health before, during, and after cancer treatment
The 19-year-old actress is currently on round seven of treatment in her ongoing breast cancer battle, with just one more treatment to follow. She is one of the very few young women diagnosed with the disease in their teenage years.
Read MoreShe adds: “Also the self-confidence knowing I can get through all my hardest days. I knew before, but living through [cancer], I'm like beast mode.”
Then came the tricky part – dealing with her mental health.
McKeon said she would be discussing this in more detail at a later date but noted: “For me, it has been the mental toll of not feeling like myself/seeing myself change physically. Feelings of isolation are common with any cancer diagnosis.”
She then explained that she never had any mental health concerns until she started treatment. “I've never really dealt with any mental health concerns, but these past four months have thrown me for a loop.”
McKeon’s Chemo Struggles
She had been doing well for the past few rounds and seemed to struggle the most during rounds two and three of chemo.
That was when she started losing her hair, though it seems to have only been a temporary side effect.
“I'm currently taking antibiotics for strep throat (*if a higher power is listening*, girl, plz give me a break!!!! like, seriously), I haven't slept well the past two nights- I've had foggy walks to the bathroom to satisfy extremely uncomfortable itchy scalp sensations by brushing out fistfuls of hair,” McKeon noted while undergoing round three of chemo.
“I return to bed with my mind racing, too stimulated to fall back to sleep. In short, my life is not picture perfect (I'm sure this doesn't need to be said, but still, I have glimpses where I feel it is).”
McKeon went on to say that she had an eye-opening experience when she went to the airport for the first time since she started chemo.
“I see my internal sickness reflected out to the world. I've gotten a few stares, but nothing too bad. I'm sporting a thin mane concealed by a scarf that leaves my narrative blank for strangers to write,” recalled McKeon.
“The thought of what stories they will craft for me puts a feeling in my throat that is hard to swallow. Or maybe it's just the strep throat. I fear their narratives will be worse than the one I am living. I fear that they will feel sorry for me. Or maybe I fear that their narratives will be spot on. That they look at me and see a young cancer patient.”
She then reversed course and proudly stated: “Still, LOOK HOW FUC*{%*\+] cute I am!!!!!!!! Like, who let me look this good?!”
McKeon on Chemo Side Effects
The tone of that post was decidedly more upbeat than the one she posted during round two of chemo.
“Keeping it real. My morning was absolute shit,” McKeon wrote at the start of a lengthy Instagram post.
“I've had a sore throat for a week and a half. I just want to swallow again. I was feeling so fragile, and I got one of those COVID tests that goes to the brain and a double strep test (both negative) that pretty much sent me over the edge. I cried for the rest of the morning.”
Then, for the first time since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June, McKeon said she was sad and scared.
“I'm so scared to lose my hair. I hope cold-capping is effective and it doesn't all go,” she wrote.
“I don't want to feel sick again for another week. I haven't felt truly sad since I wrote my last post on grieving about a month ago. I've felt like I should feel sad, but honestly, I've been extremely happy recently. But this morning, I felt sad to the core.”
McKeon’s Fertility Concerns
The cancer journey is also challenging for McKeon’s mother.
Jill McKeon said that the most challenging part came when the doctor informed her daughter about the potential for fertility problems.
She did not realize the gravity of the situation until the doctor dismissed her request to table the discussion because there was no time to think over the decision.
A week later, McKeon was injecting herself with hormones so she could undergo a procedure to harvest her eggs before chemotherapy.
After four months of chemotherapy to target the stage III breast cancer, which has spread to her lymph nodes, McKeon is nearing the finish line.
She is now back at the University of Southern California after moving her treatment from New York to Los Angeles.
McKeon Goes Public With Cancer Diagnosis
McKeon announced her breast cancer diagnosis in June.
“Pink is my new color!!!!! It is with a heavy yet hopeful heart that I share the news that I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer,” wrote McKeon at the time.
“I am 19 and as statistics go- the chances of having breast cancer at this age are one in a million! (literally, look it up on Google) I am so special- but we knew this!”
McKeon went on to reveal that after flying to San Francisco to work on a sustainable farm when she got a call with the results of a recent biopsy. The actress never made it out of the airport, and 90 minutes after landing, flew back home to New Jersey.
She remained positive while sharing her story, stressing the love and support her family and friends provided in the wake of her diagnosis.
“So the long and short of it is – I am embarking on a journey that is not of my choosing, but one I know I can handle,” wrote McKeon.
“There will be challenging times ahead when life feels impossible. But for now, I am headed into this with optimism, positivity, and surrounded by love.”
McKeon shared that her first four rounds of chemo were with adriamycin and Cytoxan, which caused her “nausea, grossness, like a really bad hangover with none of the fun the night before.” Her last four are with Taxol, which she appears to be handling better.
She noted early on that she would also be undergoing surgery and radiation.
McKeon also told her young followers not to feel sad for her or worry they too might have cancer, accurately pointing out that only four percent of those diagnosed with breast cancer every year are under the age of 40.
As she pointed out, she is pretty literally one-in-a-million.
Mental Health Resources for Cancer Warriors
Sarah Kelly, director of social work training at CancerCare, previously spoke with Survivor Net about the impact of a cancer diagnosis.
This news often prompts a fight or flight or freeze response, with freeze being the typical reaction in her estimation.
However, Kelly noted that it was just as difficult for these patients because they immediately started getting a lot of new information. There are several reasons for this, beginning with most people’s shock after learning they have cancer. That is then coupled with the belief that their lives depend on their ability to process that information instantly.
This is where social workers, in particular, can provide an invaluable service.
"Your mind can go completely blank," said Kelly. "If we think of fight or flight or freeze, freeze is a big one that happens where people feel like 'Oh my God, I have no idea what to do.' We can help people figure that out."
Social workers are not only there to help with mental health issues either and can also help with financial problems that may arise or find childcare options for parents undergoing treatment.
Dealing With Fear After Cancer Diagnosis
Mental Healing After Cancer Battle
The mental and emotional weight of a cancer battle is a lot for anyone to bear.
Evelyn Reyes-Beato knows that well. She is a colon cancer survivor from a culture where things like cancer and health are seldom discussed in a public forum. That made dealing with her emotional and mental pain difficult until she realized how closely it was tied to her physical pain.
"You have to let it out," Evelyn previously told SurvivorNet. "Your mental and your emotional help your psychical get in line. If you keep all of the emotions in, the way I see it is that stuff is going to eat you up inside, and it's not going to let you heal."
Emotional and Mental Healing After Cancer Battle
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