Supporting strength and resilience: Kelsey Moore’s breast cancer journey

Breast Cancer Awareness Month holds a special place for many of our teammates whose lives have been affected by the disease. Although we support local organizations during this annual observance, we’re also deeply committed to supporting team members like Kelsey Moore, who has bravely chosen to share her experience with breast cancer. Her personal journey is filled with resilience, strength, and hope—from diagnosis to remission.

I was diagnosed with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer at just 31 years old on April 25, 2022. I was a mom of a 4-year-old little boy and a 1-year-old baby girl at the time of diagnosis, and I was shocked. I had no family history of this disease and never thought this was something that would happen to me. 

Within a two-week span following my diagnosis, a team of doctors in Burlington, VT, immediately assembled to outline an aggressive treatment plan, I had my chemo-infusion port placed, and I started my first round of chemotherapy. I then underwent 20 weeks of intense chemotherapy at the Richard E. Winter Cancer Center in Ogdensburg, NY. 

After chemotherapy, I had a single mastectomy surgery in Burlington in November 2022, where they removed my left breast and seven cancerous lymph nodes. Once my body healed from surgery, I started radiation and completed 36 rounds—I had a complete response to chemotherapy and radiation—before undergoing DIEP FLAP reconstructive surgery, a procedure that successfully transferred tissue from my stomach to create a new breast. I continued immunotherapy treatment for another six months alongside physical therapy to improve my range of motion on my left arm after surgery and have regained full range of motion.

Now, a little over two years out from my diagnosis date, I am in full remission with completely clear scans. I am so thankful for my amazing team of doctors, surgeons, and nurses who saved my life, and I encourage women of all ages to perform breast self-exams, schedule your yearly check-ups, and make sure you are up to date on your mammograms, because early detection can save your life like it did mine.

To celebrate my remission, I started hiking in the ADK and have completed the Tupper Triad, Winter Tupper Triad, and most recently completed the Saranac 6er.