A Voice of Faith

By Tracy H. Stanton

Sharmeika McDuffie started singing with her siblings at the age of five. She says gospel music is all she has known her whole life. Sharmeika even sings a song with her family gospel group that truly explains her journey with breast cancer – “Everything I’m going through is going to be… going to be alright.”

A 44-year-old native of Marlboro County, Sharmeika found her first breast lump at the age of 12. Although there was no family history of breast cancer, Sharmeika continually had numerous benign breast lumps either removed or monitored over the next 10 years by the surgeons at Pee Dee Surgical Group in Florence. 

McLeod General Surgeon Dr. John Gause explains that Sharmeika was experiencing fibroadenomas, which are painless, non-cancerous breast tumors that are solid, and are not fluid-filled lumps.

 “This type of benign breast disease is often found in women between ages 14 and 35. Over time, a fibroadenoma can grow in size, or it can shrink and disappear. 

“They usually don’t require any treatment, but in Sharmeika’s case, she had a number of fibroadenomas removed between 1992 and 2002. In 2006, we diagnosed Sharmeika with intraductal hyperplasia of the breast, which is an overgrowth of cells that line the ducts inside the breast. 

“This condition can contribute to a higher risk of developing breast cancer,” said Dr. Gause.

In 2022, Sharmeika’s annual screening mammogram came back abnormal. Following a diagnostic mammogram, an ultrasound and a breast MRI, Sharmeika was diagnosed with right lobular breast cancer. 

A biopsy indicated two areas of cancer in her breast. That September, Sharmeika had her right 

breast removed as well as three lymph nodes by Dr. Gause. One lymph node was positive for cancer, so her treatment plan included chemotherapy, radiation and then reconstructive surgery performed by Dr. Gerald Conner with McLeod Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery.

“It was traumatizing to learn I had breast cancer. I can’t sit here and say it wasn’t. Because who wants to hear you have been diagnosed with cancer? I had lost my brother Ricky in 2019 to AML Leukemia, and I would go with him to treatments, so my diagnosis brought back all those memories. However, I clung tightly to my faith and that is what kept me strong throughout the whole process.”

Sharmeika describes the first time she stepped inside the McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research as welcoming. “The staff members are lovable people, and they are passionate about their job and care for the patients. When I first met McLeod Radiation Oncologist Dr. Virginia Clyburn-Ipock, I was nervous because I didn’t want to go through chemotherapy or radiation. She talked with me and just encouraged me. She said, ‘You’ve got this.’ She helped me through it.”

On December 21, 2022, Sharmeika rang the bell signifying the end of her chemotherapy. In early 2023, she began six weeks of radiation therapy. “Even when I felt nervous or overwhelmed the staff calmed me and encouraged me. No matter what we go through in life we have to encourage ourselves. You need positivity at all times no matter what you may face.”

Click here to watch Sharmeika's encouraging story of hope.