HOLDEN — The community rallying around her and her family in a monumental way following a breast cancer diagnosis completely changed one town resident’s mind about moving out of Holden.
PreK teacher Kelly Lane found out she had invasive ductal carcinoma, an aggressive form of breast cancer, on Oct. 1, 2021, via a MyChart message while waiting to pick up dinner. That just happened to be the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Lane immediately texted her “amazing friend” and NP Lauren Katz and asked her to go into MyChart and confirm what she thought she was reading; she also sent her husband, Phil, a text letting him know her results were in and that “it didn’t look good.”
“By the time the kids and I got home with dinner, Lauren was pulling in ready to help,” Lane recalled. “My initial reaction was to cry. I let it out for a bit, then told Lauren it was time to make a plan to beat this. By the end of that evening, we had put in for a consult with an oncologist and I was ready to fight.”
The mom of three — Avery, 9, Evynne, 7, and Lawson, 5 — decided to seek care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “It was the best decision I’ve made,” she said.
“My care team has been incredible, and I feel so lucky to live so close to such an incredible cancer center,” she said.
Lane began chemotherapy every three weeks in November 2021, had a double mastectomy in March 2022, and is “happy to say” that she had her last chemotherapy session on Jan. 3.
“In February, I’ll be having my Diep Flap procedure done. It’s a pretty big surgery, so recovery will take a while, but I’m so ready to have it done,” Lane said of the next step.
Many members of Holden and the greater community have stepped in and offered all kinds of support throughout her battle. Over the last 15 months, she said, “This community has given me all the feels!” She added that it means the world to her and her family.
“So many incredibly kind and generous people, some of whom I don’t even know, have gone out of their way to offer support, love, encouragement, meals and so much more,” Lane said. “I couldn’t have made it this far without this community, and our family is forever grateful for the love and support.”
A ‘Help Kelly Kick Cancer’ GoFundMe (gofund. me/405715f1) has to date netted more than $10,000 in donations. A post Lane made in the Mountaineer Mamas Facebook page on New Year’s Eve thanking everyone who has been a part of supporting her garnered well over 500 reactions and dozens and dozens of heartfelt comments of encouragement.
In the post, Lane gave shoutouts to local businesses such as Seven Saws Brewing Co., who had an “incredible fundraiser” for her, and several individuals who went above and beyond to show they care in the form of games for her children “to keep them occupied during rough chemo weeks,” gifts including a reclining chair to use post-surgery, Buddha statues, a new mailbox, inspirational coffee cups and fuzzy socks, handmade bags and shirts, wrapped Christmas presents and nourishing her family with homemade food and soups, and more — too many people to name and too many gestures of kindness to list here.
“Over the last 15 months of chemo every three weeks, a double mastectomy and other glitches along the way, this community has been nothing short of amazing and incredible to our family,” Lane wrote. “Meal trains, constant texts and messages of support, massages paid for from people I barely know … setting up a gofundme account and numerous hours of work to help make fundraisers amazing … , amazing coworkers who made me feel so loved and supported after my diagnosis and a boss who always let me put myself first. There are so many more names but my chemo brain is fuzzy, a big thank you to everyone!
“You all lifted me up when I needed it most and showed our family what it’s like to live in the best area around,” she continued. “It takes a village, and I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your love this last year. I couldn’t have made it without you guys!”
One of the biggest cheerleaders throughout Lane’s breast cancer journey has been her husband, Phil, whom she refers to as “the real MVP.”
“He worked full time, forced me to rest, and made sure our kids’ lives were not disrupted,” she said. “Phil was and is my rock and without him this experience would have been a million times worse.”
What was that mention of moving, you ask?
Before her cancer diagnosis, the family had been actively looking to move north. Lane said that while they liked Holden, her entire family lives in southern Maine, and her husband’s family lives in Haverhill.
“After being diagnosed, we decided to put moving plans on hold,” she said. “That’s when this community stepped up in a big way and made us realize that Holden is home.”
