Novi police officer’s wife, 35, spreading awareness of breast cancer after diagnosis

NOVI — A Novi police officer and his wife are trying to spread awareness that breast cancer can happen at any age after she got diagnosed a week before her 35th birthday.

When officer Adam McGee and his wife, Katie, welcomed their third child, Penny, into the world on May 30, breast cancer was the furthest thing from their minds.

“Breast cancer wasn’t on my radar at all,” Katie said.”Like, it wasn’t. We don’t have a family history and I kind of did all the things to prevent it. I had a baby before I was 28 years old. I breastfed my other two sons, and I was breastfeeding Penny. So it just wasn’t on my radar at all.”

However, three months after Penny’s birth, a story a friend told Katie of a young woman developing breast cancer shortly after giving birth to her third child resonated heavily on Katie’s mind for a couple of weeks. So, one night, she decided to do a self-exam while nursing Penny and was shocked to find a lump.

“That story popped into my head and my hand went to it like a magnet and I felt the lump,” she said.

She said she went to her husband, who was a “calming presence” and suggested that it might be a clogged duct or something hormonal. However, she said she had a gut feeling and contacted her doctor the next morning and went for an exam. The doctor’s office reassured her that they didn’t think it was anything, but they wanted to verify it with a mammogram and an ultrasound, and then a biopsy, which revealed it was cancer. It was later identified as triple-negative breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer, which is defined by special receptors on the breast cancer cells, makes up only about 10%-15% of all breast cancer cases, said Anna Lehrberg, a breast surgeon with Henry Ford Health. According to Lehrberg, triple-negative breast cancer is a particularly aggressive form of cancer and has a poorer prognosis compared to other types of cancers. It is seen more frequently in women under age 40. She said that in the U.S. there is a higher incidence of triple-negative breast cancer cases among young Black women compared to other racial groups.

“I was floored,” Katie said of the diagnosis.

She said she knew right then and there that it was her new mission in life to promote awareness, and she credits hearing the friend’s story with her finding the lump.

“If I wouldn’t have heard that friend’s story. I don’t  know if I would have done an exam. Like, it wouldn’t have even been on my radar to check myself. Just that thought scared me so much. I don’t know how naive I was to think there was no chance that something like this would happen to me at this age and stage in my life.” she said.

She said that she did undergo an extensive genetic panel, but there were no genetic factors in her case.

“Whatever we’re calling it — luck, divine intervention — that fact that it did happen when it did is huge in terms of what her options were” Adam said. “It might have been totally different circumstances if, say, even six months had gone by.”

Breast cancer associated with pregnancy is defined as cancer that presents during pregnancy and one year postpartum, Lehrberg said. She said that it is the second most common malignancy in pregnancy, after cervical cancer. It affects  0.2%-3.8% of all pregnancies.

“There is a correlation between breast cancer and recent pregnancy. Recent childbirth is associated with increased risk of breast cancer in the first five to 10 years postpartum,” Lehrberg said. “This risk is particularly higher in patients who are over age 35 or older at time of their first birth and with family history of breast cancer.”

Pregnancy-related breast cancer occurs in approximately 1 in 3,000 pregnancies, said Lehrberg. TNBC is more common in pregnancy-related breast cancer.

Katie has now been researching the topic and found that only about 20% of cancers are hereditary. She said she had the misunderstanding that if you don’t have a family history, that you have a reduced risk.

“You don’t,” she said.

However, according to Lehrberg, inherited genetic mutations can increase the risk of breast cancer.

“The cause of most cancer is likely multifactorial — meaning there are several things that can contribute to developing in cancer,” Lehrberg said.

She said that with pregnancy-related breast cancer, hormonal changes and immune alteration can increase risk for cancer and tumor growth.

Katie caught the cancer early and is in stage 1, as it had not spread to her lymph nodes, so her prognosis is good. She is undergoing chemotherapy, as TNBC, which is very fast growing, is very responsive to chemo. She will complete 20 weeks of chemo and then undergo a double mastectomy and immediate reconstructive surgery in March.

“For triple-negative, the hope is that you go into surgery cancer-free,” Katie said.”That has been shown to prevent recurrence.”

Following the mastectomy, she will be on immunotherapy for a full year. Immunotherapy trains the body to fight its own cancer cells. She said that is something that is fairly new to the treatment protocol for TNBC, having been added within the last two to three years, Katie said.

“All of her treatment is geared towards treating whatever she has now and then doing whatever we can to prevent the recurrence of it coming back or a different form coming back,” Adam said. “That’s part of the reason why she is electing to have a mastectomy instead of a lumpectomy.”

Katie said her daughter has brought a great amount of joy among all the trials they are going through.

“She has definitely brought a delightful balance, despite all the hard stuff we are going through, and that’s been a big focus: reminding myself to enjoy her first year and not have it be just focused on what’s going on with the cancer and everything,” she said.

Along with Penny, now 6 months, the couple has two sons, Theo, 7, and Cooper, 4. Katie said it was a great concern for them as to how well she would be able to take care of the kids while undergoing the chemo, but she said she is managing it pretty well and is able to stay active.

“Aside from losing my hair and being a bit fatigued some days, we try to keep it business as usual,” Katie said.

She said her kids describe her new hairstyle as “Fierce and a little weird.”

She said she hopes to bring awareness to the disease. She is now encouraging all her friends to not wait to get tested, because of how fast it can spread.

“I think that there’s a lot of awareness for breast cancer in general. I mean, people see the pink ribbons and stuff, but people forget just the age requirements. You’re not even supposed to get a mammogram until you’re 40,” Adam said. “But now she has been connected with so many other women who are under 40 who have had breast cancer. It’s just kind of, like, baffling. It’s like, ‘Why aren’t we doing this (mamograms) earlier if we are seeing this?’ It is happening younger and younger. It just seems to be an afterthought. I mean, especially in her case, I don’t want to even think about the scenario had she waited until 40 to get a mammogram”

Lehrberg said that the current standard of care is to screen “average risk women” with a mammogram starting at age 40 based on the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force. However, earlier screening may be indicated for women who are at “higher-than-average risk,” which  is based on their personal history of prior breast biopsy as well as family history, she said.

Katie said that her mammogram was only covered by her insurance because cancer was suspected. Otherwise insurance companies don’t pay for them for women under 40.

Lehrberg said that risk assessment for breast cancer should be done for all women starting at age 25 as well as an annual breast exam with a clinician. She said that for pregnant patients, a breast exam should be done by their obstetrician in the beginning of the pregnancy. According to Lehrberg, the most recent American College of Radiology guidelines indicate that screening for breast cancer should not be delayed until after delivery. She said patients who are considered high risk for breast cancer and qualify for screening under 40 can safely have a mammogram during pregnancy.

“Due to pregnancy or lactation breast changes, it may be difficult to detect abnormalities in the breast and patients are encouraged to have self-awareness and to report any persistent abnormalities to their doctor,” Lehrberg said.

Adam continues to work full time as a patrol officer in Novi but has been able to switch to the day shift. He is also a sniper for the Southwest Oakland Special Response Team, but he plans to take a prolonged leave when his wife has surgery. However, he did stop teaching an emergency vehicle operations class at Schoolcraft Community College and has forfeited a lot of overtime in order to be home with Katie. Katie continues her duties as a full-time stay-at-home parent and wife. Adam said Katie has always been his biggest career supporter.

“In spite of everything, she still cheers me on,”  he said

The family has been blessed with help from family, neighbors and Adam’s fellow officers. Katie’s parents have been assisting with watching the kids during her chemo days and providing transportation to and from school. As a result of the cancer, Katie had to stop breastfeeding immediately, but fortunately three of her neighbors had also recently had children and are donating their breastmilk for Penny.

“That was probably the most traumatic part (stopping breastfeeding) of all of it,” Katie said.

However, she said the neighbors donating their breastmilk for her daughter has helped to heal the wounds she had from not being able to supply her daughter with breastmilk.

“Our little street here has really stepped up to help and it’s just been incredible.”

Several police officers have been doing meal trains and purchased a cleaning service for them so that Katie only has to worry about maintaining her health and taking care of her children.

“To not have to stress about that has been huge,” Katie said. “It’s taken a lot off of my plate.

However, even though the McGees have health insurance, medical bills are piling up and there are some other treatments that Katie is looking into that are not covered by insurance, such as acupuncture, supplements and nutritional support services.

“In my mind there’s no harm in trying anything,” Adam said.

Because of this, Sgt. Jon Jacob, of the Fraternal Order of Police, has created a GoFundMe page for the McGee family. Jacob, a Novi resident, works for the West Bloomfield Police Department and is in charge of the Southwest Oakland Special Response Team. Jacob said he knew Adam as a kid, when they played hockey together, and they reconnected later as officers.

“It’s just what we do. When one thing happens to one of us, we take care of each other,” Jacob said.

As of Dec. 10, the GoFundMe has raised $18,575 of a $25,000 goal. However, Jacob said that he did receive some donations from people who just didn’t feel comfortable donating online. Donations can be made online at Gofundme.com/f/support-katie-mcgees-fight-against-cancer. Cash and checks can be brought to the Novi and West Bloomfield police departments or mailed to: FOP 128, P.O. Box 311, Walled Lake, MI 48390.

For more information on breast cancer, Lehrberg recommends going to the following websites:

• American Society of Breast Surgeons Foundate: Breast360.org.

• American Cancer Society: cancer.org.

• National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute: cancer.gov.