Gary resident LaKenya Mackey-Ellis beat breast cancer not once, but twice. It would start when Mackey-Ellis went for a routine mammogram where she found out she had breast cancer. She was diagnosed for the first time on June 17, 2017.
“I was pretty devastated because I have three children,” said Mackey-Ellis. “I looked at the diagnosis like a death sentence at first.”
However, Mackey-Ellis then did more reading and research through Susan G. Komen and learned there were different methods and treatments for her breast cancer. She would also sign up to the Indiana Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP).
“They really helped me save my life,” said Mackey-Ellis. “They paid for my visits and everything because, at the time, I had lost my job with the diagnosis.”
Her previous employer did not want her to work because of her having to go through surgeries or treatments. Fortunately, she would win her case against her former employer.
Mackey-Ellis’s maternal cousin was also diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time, and it was comforting having someone who understood her struggles despite the tough circumstances at hand.
“She had to have a mastectomy and chemotherapy,” said Mackey-Ellis. “She went through my breast cancer with me, and we were just encouraging one another.”
Going to Methodist Hospitals Southlake campus, Mackey-Ellis herself had a lumpectomy as treatment for her breast cancer, which included pills for medication. At the time, her doctors had managed to get all of the cancer out, or so they thought. It was until the following year in July that she was once again diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I was devastated,” said Mackey-Ellis. “I was really devastated to get diagnosed twice. I had to have surgery and go through everything all over again.”
The second time around saw Mackey-Ellis losing part of her breast. Thankfully, she still did not need to do chemotherapy. In September of 2018, Mackey-Ellis would be cancer free once again.
With the support of her family, especially her husband Lamonte Ellis, Mackey-Ellis had made it through. Now she wanted to get back to working and living life.
“In 2018, after they told me I was cancer free, I told my husband that I need to go back to work,” said Mackey-Ellis. “I didn't want to just stay in the house – I wanted to get back to life.”
She was then hired at Coyne College in downtown Chicago as a medical assistant instructor. While Mackey-Ellis was working part time there, she also went back to school to get her Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from Indiana Wesleyan University.
“I worked there as a medical assistant instructor and let my body heal back,” said Mackey-Ellis. “I got myself and my energy back. I went back to school at that time to which my husband worried that I was doing too much. I wanted to go back to school and get my MBA.”
After she left school, Mackey-Ellis spent some time working in home health and working with Community HealthNet. In early 2023, she got her current job working as a case manager at NorthShore Health Centers in Indiana, relieving the stress of having to commute to Illinois.
“I love my job, and I love helping people,” said Mackey-Ellis. “I love helping them develop self-management plans to help them with diabetes, heart disease and cancer.”
In her role with NorthShore, she is able to use her own experiences with cancer to relate to and help her patients.
“I've had a couple of patients that got their diagnoses of breast cancer,” said Mackey-Ellis. “I was able to have that personal connection with them and coach them through it. I gave them a lot of resources that helped me when I was going through my journey with breast cancer.”
Through this role, she can share resources like Susan G. Komen and the Indiana BCCP program which have helped Mackey-Ellis. NorthShore offers a lot of screenings and mammograms for its patients, so Mackey-Ellis can help her patients by referring them to NorthShore.
“I always try to help them by making sure that they keep up with their mammograms,” said Mackey-Ellis. “One thing I love about being a part of NorthShore is that we are really dedicated to servicing the community and helping them keep up with their screenings.”
Throughout her challenges with cancer, Mackey-Ellis was able to remain positive by keeping faith in God.
“What kept me positive was my faith in God,” said Mackey-Ellis. “They say we walk by faith and not by sight. That's what I held on to, and I just kept asking God to not let it be a death sentence for me. I want to live, and I want to still be able to experience life with my family and friends and just continue to be a service to people.”
