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In 2017, Bernadette Priestley was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. She was 37-years-old—and her two young children were just three and five years old.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, aside from skin cancers. Treatment like radiation and chemotherapy can take a toll on the body, causing side effects such as fatigue, hair loss, and nausea.

In 2011, Kelly McDaniel-Morales was 29 years old and seven months pregnant with her first daughter when she heard the words no expectant mother wants to hear: “You have cancer.”

What followed was a carefully orchestrated medical timeline that would forever change Kelly’s family.

KCTV talked with Kelly, her daughter Brooklyn, and Dr. Ruby Meierotto, breast radiologist at Saint Luke’s East Hospital, about her battle with breast cancer and journey to motherhood.

1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.

During the overwhelming time of a breast cancer diagnosis, nurse navigators at Saint Luke's serve as resources and advocates in every step of the process.