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By Andrea Nagel
In 2008,
Kellie Cranmer was a
busy mother, wife and realtor living
in Bonners Ferry. At just 31 years
old, Kellie had never received a
mammogram, or had reason to, until
she discovered a lump while taking
a shower.
“At first I was kind of in denial,”
she explained. “I thought, ‘That’s
weird,’ but didn’t go to the doctor
right away. I talked to my mom
about it, and of course she told me
to go see a doctor.”
Kellie did not have health insur-
ance, and she worried about the
cost of a mammogram. Luckily, she
heard about a free screening pro-
gram, funded through the Susan G.
Komen Foundation, from the Pan-
handle Health District in Bonners
Ferry and made an appointment.
“The nurse was concerned and
ordered a biopsy,” Kellie said. “I
felt like I had to wait forever for the
results, but finally four days before
Christmas, I got a phone call telling
me that it was breast cancer.”
T H E J O U R N E Y B E G I N S
Kellie and her family relocated to
Coeur d’Alene in 2009, just as she
began the long journey of cancer
treatment that resulted in two surger-
ies, five months of chemotherapy
and 36 days of radiation treatment.
Kellie’s treatment seemed to work.
She lived the next five years of her
life cancer-free, spending time with
her family and settling back in to
normal activities and work post-
cancer. Then, one night in 2014,
Kellie awoke to sharp, shooting pains
SurvivingMetastatic
Kellie Cranmer was
diagnosed with breast
cancer in 2008 when
she was just 31 years
old. She says she is
living proof of the
importance of breast
self-exams.
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