Kelly Shelton
When Kelly Shelton of Dover was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999, she was only 40 years old. She went in for a regular check-up and the nurse practitioner found a lump. “I just said, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ That’s just my personality. I internalize things,” says Kelly.
After further tests, she had a biopsy at Kent General Hospital, which proved to be cancerous. “I got three opinions about what I should do. I kept hearing the same thing. You want somebody to tell you it isn’t so. You come to realize it is so, so you’d better go ahead and do what you have to do,” says Kelly, who is a health and physical education teacher at William Henry Middle School in Kent County.
She had a mastectomy in October of 1999 at Johns Hopkins, followed by chemotherapy in Dover. During that time she was out of work for only two weeks following her surgery. Her son, Justin, now 8, was a toddler at the time. She received encouragement and support from her husband, Dana, and her church family at Calvary Baptist Church.
Out of treatment for more than six years now, she considers herself a survivor. She volunteers with The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition MAAM program to encourage women to get regular mammograms. She will be walking in her second Breast Cancer 3-Day walk this October in Philadelphia to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. She also hopes to participate in The Wellness Community’s Strides for Hope Marathon next year.
Kelly joined The Wellness Community-Delaware’s yoga class after reading about it in a local paper. “It’s very relaxing. Most of the women in the yoga class are breast cancer survivors like me. It’s a great group of ladies, and the instructors are very encouraging,” says Kelly. Kelly encourages women who are faced with breast cancer to keep the faith and never give up, for it’s only a test you’re going through, and it’s going to be over real soon!
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