<div class="block">Clea Shearer, author of &#39;The Home Edit: Stay Organized,&#39; joined &#39;beWell&#39; to talk about her experience in being diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer. She also talked about the mental strain that a diagnosis and its following treatment that patients experience. &quot;There really is no way but through and I knew with 100 percent certainty that I was going to beat this with the full force of every fiber in my being so I just basically prepared for battle and pushed every single day with that in mind,&quot; she said.</div>

beWell

Be Well: Author Clea Shearer on Determination to Beat Breast Cancer

Professional organizer and star of get organized with the home edict, Leah Shearer's life. Well, it turned upside down last year when she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Since then, clea has gone public with her battle and is sharing her personal journey on social media and also sharing her story with us right now. So, thank you so much for being here. Hi, thank you for having me. So of course, we need to start with, you know, this, this diagnosis and how did you find out? I found a lump myself in the shower and I was 39 when it started to form and I, you know, I just figured there's no way it could be cancer. I'm not 40 yet. I'm not even eligible for a mammogram. Um But of course, it turned out uh after an emergency triple biopsy that it was. Wow. So now what did the doctors end up telling you about the type of breast cancer that you have? So after um a biopsy, the pathology comes back and actually can dissect the tumor to tell you just how aggressive your cancer is and how um fast moving. It is and mine marked really high in both of those categories. Um I'm also hormone positive. So I have the opportunity after acute treatment, which is chemotherapy and radiation. I'm now on 10 years of adjunct therapy and oral chemo. Um just to keep cancer at bay, I will do anything to not have it come back and return. Absolutely. Now, how do you mentally prepare? You get the diagnosis, you get the pathology back and you know, the fight that you have ahead of you. How do you mentally prepare yourself for that? There really is no way but through. And um I knew with 100% certainty that I was going to beat this with the full force of every fiber in my being. So I just basically prepared for battle and um pushed every single day with that in mind. And obviously, you're someone in the public eye. We're, we're looking at you here. What was it like? You know, the, the feedback, the social media sharing your story. What, what's that journey been like? Probably one of the most gratifying experiences in my life? Um Not because I need all the hugs in the world, although I will take them. Um but the stories that I've heard from people who have been following my journey who have gone on to find their own cancer diagnosis and bumps that they would not have been able to recognize prior. And you know, if I can even save one life in this process. I will take it. And um so it's, it's really been the honor of my life to be part of this with everyone else. Yeah, that's fantastic. Now, you also have a new book. So tell us about it. Our new book is called Stay Organized. It is um our third book that, you know, finally walks people through to the end of the organizing journey, which is about long term maintenance. That's usually the question we get asked, is it even worth it to try if I can't keep it. So here, here's the answer. And now for people who might be on a similar journey, what words of advice or maybe inspiration do you have for them? Now, I would say positivity and hope go such a long way. I think it got me through every single day. It keep me from feeling like I was wallowing and feeling sad. I was just like looking for all the glimmers of hope I possibly could. And it, for me, it really, really worked. I know it kind of sounds trite but keeping staying positive helped me so tremendously. I think once, once you sink down in depression, I really believe your health can follow. So it's my recommendation. Yeah, absolutely. I think we know now how much our physical and mental health are connected. Thank you so much for sharing your story and taking time to chat with us today. It was lovely meeting. Thank you so much for having me.