The Cost of Courage: One Woman's Breast Cancer Fight!

By: Jay Dee, MPH

Chanel Mills reflects the financial strain, emotional impact, and the truth about fighting cancer as a 35 year old mother. Here are things you should know:

How did you find out you had breast cancer?

Chanel: “I was in the shower doing the normal self-breast exam, left hand up, right hand massaging my left breast. When I did the right side, I felt a lump. I stopped for a second and I kept going and felt another lump under my armpit. After I felt the lumps, I was terrified, Breast cancer runs in my family! I made an appointment the next day, but I couldn’t get an appointment until 3 months later with my primary care provider (PCP). However, I was able to be seen. Then I was referred out for a mammogram. The results came back a week or less! Everything moved so fast.”

What were your first couple of weeks like with appointments and acceptance of your Diagnosis?

Chanel: “Ummm…. everything was in August of 2024. So, after the mammogram I had to do a biopsy. After the biopsy, my PCP called me to come in to get my results. In September I seen my Oncologist and I started treatment in October. Everything as far as appointments started moving really fast. Because it’s Breast Cancer, it’s a whole team. It was a lot of appointments back-to-back to meet the team. It was a lot, appointments were every week, like clockwork.”

Chanel: “I was not ok mentally. I wasn’t….I wasn’t…I think I was just going with the flow if that makes sense…in the beginning…I was going with the flow. I don’t know at one point it hit me to be honest. But I know October? November? October for sure, I understood but I didn’t understand the magnitude quite yet. I don’t know when, but I know I was in denial for a while. Even with treatment. Even though I’m going to treatment and I’m being poked, it still didn’t hit me. I was still going to work, so I was in denial. Maybe a month, when I stopped working and had to sit down.”

When did chemotherapy start? How long was each treatment? How did you feel—mentally and physically—after each session?

Chanel: “Oct 1st, 2024, for about 6 hours feels like, maybe 5. I was ok! I was ok! Mentally I was ok. It was more of my body. The side effects of chemo (sigh) nausea, fatigue, no appetite, and no strength.”

At the time of your diagnosis, you were thriving in motherhood to a beautiful 7-year-old daughter, my God baby, Chloe. Were you able to care for her full time while undergoing Chemo treatments?

Chanel: “No. ummhmm…ummhmm…no. I was not able to have her she went with her dad, and I got her on the weekends. My treatments were on Tuesdays, and I’ll get her on Fridays. Not every Friday but in my mind, I would have treatment on Tuesdays, and by the weekend get my strength back by the weekend. Some weekends would come, I wasn’t feeling well and I couldn’t get my baby. At some point, my Dr had to reduce some one the medications because it was taking a toll on me. There were days I couldn’t get up to feed myself!”

How did you discuss Breast cancer with your daughter?

Chanel: “I bought a book off amazon! (laughing) ummmm…basically reading about a child who find out their mother has breast cancer, and it went over the changes with the hair, being sick, not having the energy to do things that they normally do. So that’s how I introduced it to her. I let her feel the lump. I don’t know if that was traumatizing but I did let her feel the lump in my breast. I let her touch it just so she could have the idea of what it is. But she also got other conversations from her dad and I’m pretty sure other people too.”

Can you identify how your breast cancer status affected your daughter?

Chanel: “Ummm…yeah and no. I feel like to a certain instinct I don’t think she fully grasped what it really was. I feel like she understood as much as a 7-year-old can understand. She never seen or witnessed me being weak or down. The only thing she witnessed was me cutting my hair off and you know that was really bad. She really truly hated cutting my hair; I had so much hair. That’s the only time she showed emotion, when I cut my hair. I don’t think it had anything to do with the cancer situation even though that’s what I was doing it for. I think for a 7-year-old, it was more of, ‘Oh my God my mom doesn’t have her hair!’ I’ve always had a lot of hair. I don’t think it really hindered her because she did amazing this school year!”

Discuss the financial aspect of Breast Cancer. Did your insurance cover 100% of your care?

Chanel: “No! It did not. It did not cover 100%. However, it covered some. So, what I learned when it comes to insurance and being sick because I never been sick at this big age. I didn’t know anything about a deductible. I had to pay a copay every time I went, every week, every Tuesday I had to pay $250 for the first 3 months.”

Me (Interviewer): “THAT’S A LOT!”

Chanel: “…Duhhh….hmph! Who you telling that too! Payments decreased to $100 the last 3 months, January-March. My exams, my scans are $400 and something EKG, Red Devil, radiation thing, they gave me a shot of something, and I did a scan to see if the cancer spread, girl that was $400 something. But my treatment was $250 then it went down to $100. Every time I see my Dr. it was $100. So from October to December it was $250 + $100 to see my DR. (didn’t see her all the time). The next appointment, BITCH, I turn around, I didn’t meet my deductible. This was January, that Treatment was $400 something. I was paying all kinds of ways, card, cash app, money was coming all kinds of ways.”

Chanel: “Short Term Disability is only 60% of pay. Idk what pay, who pay. So that’s $500 and something every week, so that’s $2,000. So let’s do the math. Rent is $1400, lights, cable, food, gas, insurance! It doesn’t include anything so not working, still having bills on top of paying a co-pay weekly…weekly…weekly was crazy!! S/O to my support system they sent money monthly, $50 to $100 something. Some was sending more! It all helped me out for a couple of months.”

Chanel: “Towards the end, I switched insurance due to me not working on STD…so payment is not coming from my job. My job is no longer paying me. The people that own the STD is paying so they’re not paying my medical, I had to pay that. Directly to Blue Cross Blue Shield, which it wasn’t the discounted price that you have for your job like $68 a month out of your paycheck. I was paying $130 a month out of my STD. I paid that from December to April. It ended in March, April. I got more insurance to cover me for when Florida Blue ends. I got Aetna and so far, so good. I made sure Aetna was in my network. So yeah, I don’t pay anything out of pocket now. My first treatment of immunotherapy met my deductible, so I don’t pay nothing out of nothing!”

At what point did you stop working and why?

Chanel: “I was diagnosed August 1st, treatment was October 1st, which was weekly. I didn’t stop working until November because I was in denial. It hadn’t hit me yet. To be honest, I probably could’ve continued to work but it couldn’t have been full time; but we don’t have part time. So, boom, work Monday, treatment Tuesday, but Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, girl…I can’t work! I’m weak. I’m tired. So, I would’ve only worked on Monday and Tuesday. It didn’t make sense."

You have a strong support system. What are some things your support system did that kept you encouraged and lessened some burdens?

Chanel: “Hmm…ummm…they sent money monthly! Daily check-ins, pop-ups, outings, reassuring me that everything will be ok. They show up to show me, they support me in my process.”

If anything, what more could your support system have done to make this journey easier for you?

Chanel: “Giirrllllll…..mmmm…ummm…for the most part, what can I say? Making it easier for me? Ummm….coming over and tiding up would’ve been a help. I think….chile….that’s really it.”

You recently just completed surgery, what did you decide to do with your breast and how did you make this decision?

Chanel: “I got a double mastectomy, and I got fillers so that I can get my breast reconstructed after radiation. I’m terrified of the cancer returning, so I wanted to get rid of both, so that I don’t have to go through this again. I don’t think physically, emotionally, I can go through chemo again a second time.”

Where are you currently in the process?

Chanel: “As of May 29th, 2025, I am currently waiting to hear back from radiation to get started. I’ve completed mapping so that takes a couple of weeks for them to do what they do on their end for me to get started. Radiation will last 15 to 30 mins in total. For 5 weeks, every day. I’m also currently doing immunotherapy. Once every 3 weeks, it’s 30 min to an hour process and I’ll be done in October 2025. So far, I switched insurance companies, so I don’t have to pay anything as of right now.”

If anyone reading this is currently diagnosed with Breast Cancer, what do you want them to know?

Chanel: “Take one Day at a Time. Speak up for yourself. If you don't speak up, baby they (Dr.) won’t know. You gotta open your mouth! One thing about me, I don't mind speaking up for myself and I when I did, she (Dr.) wasn’t second guessing me. She (Dr.) didn't question me, if she questioned me, she wanted to have a better understanding of what I was experiencing. It took me a minute to start speaking up…I was going through what I was. It was really hard and when I decided to say this, some of these things are going on and I don't like how I'm feeling, she's (Dr.) like, ‘OK you know they are some of the side effects for you.’ She knew when to break it down, we can minimize but the dose of medicine or whatever…so I feel like speak up for yourself no matter what. When it comes to friends, family…let people know, because I don't do that. I wish I would have when it came to certain situations. Don’t stress, give it to God. I don't think I would have made it today without giving it to him…”

Throughout this entire process, how did you engage in self-pleasure (doing things to feel good?

Chanel: “Eating sweets (laughing) and getting my toes and lashes (mink) done till I couldn’t."

Any Closing remarks?

Chanel: “Real bitches do real things! (laughing) Cancer don’t got you, bitch! Cancer do not got you bitch! Stand up, head up, and fight back. That’s it. Cancer do not got you!”

Chloe is helping shave her mother's head. Chanel experienced some discomfort with the clippers but she was fine.