Shelby Young, 49, breast cancer, Orrington ME, with Kristina Worcester, RN, Breast Oncology Nurse Navigator

Shelby Young, 49, breast cancer, Orrington ME, with Kristina Worcester, RN, Breast Oncology Nurse Navigator Shelby has been having mammograms every 6 months for the past 2 years because ofdense breast tissue. In March 2022, the mammogram looked suspicious, so she had anultrasound later that day. A biopsy two weeks later confirmed that she had triple negative rightbreast cancer. She started treatment at Dana-Farber, once a week for 8 weeks, then once every3 weeks until April of 2023. Throughout that process, Shelby had a lumpectomy in September of2022 and a month of radiation in December.· Before the lumpectomy, Shelby’s surgeon placed a bead where the tumor had been, andafter removing the tissue around the bead area, the area came back negative for breast cancer.She is no longer in treatment. Shelby has had immense support from family and friends; as theTeam Mom for her daughter’s travel softball team, the support from all the girls has given herso much encouragement.· She works as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department and many call her“Mumma Shelbs” too. Every step of the way, she has felt thankful for her care team and theentire nurse IV team – especially Kristina Worcester.! For Shelby, her treatment and supportfrom Dana-Farber has been “outstanding!”Breast cancer facts· According to BreastCancer.org, one in eight women in the United States willbe diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.· Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, except for skincancers. It is about 30% (or 1 in 3) of all new female cancers each year.· Breast cancer occurs when some breast cells begin to grow abnormally. These cellsdivide more rapidly than healthy cells do and continue to accumulate, forming a lump or mass.· According to the American Cancer Society, 297,790 new cases of invasive breast cancerwill be diagnosed in women in the United States for 2023, and about 43,700 women will diefrom breast cancer. · Although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,800 men will be diagnosed withbreast cancer in 2023 and approximately 530 will die each year. For men, the lifetime risk ofgetting breast cancer is about 1 in 833.· On average, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and woman willdie of breast cancer every 13 minutes.· At this time, there are more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.Kristina Worcester, RN· After her younger brother was treated at Dana-Farber years ago, Kristina knew that thiswas the place she wanted to be for her nursing career. Now, she’s a Breast Oncology NurseNavigator, creating strong relationships and working as a “lifeline” for her patients, alongsidethe doctors and advanced practice providers. She notes that her brother’s oncology team yearsago showed deep commitment and care and Kristina carries that same drive in her own role.· One of Kristina’s first patients was Shelby Young, also a nurse, who worked in her localhospital’s emergency room. Inspired by Shelby’s positivity and resilience, the two quicklyformed an easy-going relationship. Kristina explains that once they worked through symptomsand care needs, their visits simply became more conversational. Today, Shelby is doing better,meaning less trips to Dana-Farber, but the team will always miss her bubbly and delightfulpersonality.· Outside of her role, Kristina has spent all her extra time taking care of her puppy, Sully,and spending quality time with friends and family.