Texas Mom Diagnosed with Breast Cancer The Same Day Her Son Was Born: 'Cried Myself to Sleep That Night' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Shenise Hardy was diagnosed with breast cancer hours after giving birth.Photo:Shenise Hardy

Shenise Hardy

Last November, Shenise Hardy gave birth to her son. Little did she know one of the happiest days of her life would also be one of the worst: Hours after delivering, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I cried myself to sleep that night,” says Shenise, 37. “I was like, “Oh, my gosh. I just gave birth. I don’t want to die. Am I going to die?”

It started when she was seven months pregnant with her second child. Shenise, of Cypress, Texas, felt something wrong on her right breast. It felt hard and flat — like a pancake stretching from her armpit down along the side of her breast, says the district manager for a loan company. “I woke my husband up and I was like, ‘Come feel.’ I was like, ‘This is not right.'”

She made a doctor’s appointment with her ob’s office and was eventually referred to a breast cancer surgeon, who did a biopsy.

Shenise Hardy before her breast cancer diagnosis.Shenise Hardy

Then, on November 15, 2023, as she and her husband Rickey Hardy were preparing to drive toMemorial Hermann Cypress Hospitalfor a scheduled C-section, she got a call from the breast surgeon’s nurse asking if she could come to the office to receive her test results. Sherise said she couldn’t — she was about to give birth.

Her son Zachary was born at 6:11 p.m. She and Rickey were overjoyed.

Later that night as she was recovering, her obstetrician walked into the room and said she had news. She said, “It is cancer.”

“As soon as she said that, I just broke down crying,” Shenise remembers.

Rickey, she says, stayed quiet, rubbing her back as the doctor spoke.

“He was devastated too — because his mom is a breast cancer survivor,” she says. “He was shocked. He didn’t say anything at first. He kept giving me kisses.”

When the doctor left the room, he said, “Babe, it’s going to be okay. Let’s pray,” she remembers.

Rickey sat quietly while she called her mother, her father, and her sister.

“I literally just cried," she says. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to leave my kids. I don’t want to leave my husband.”

After she was asleep, her husband called his mother. “She told him I was going to be okay. She was a big support too. I have a big village.”

RIckey and Shenise Hardy.Shenise Hardy

“It started to get overwhelming,” she says. “I would break down crying. I was angry. I was upset. I was questioning. I was questioning my faith, and everything. It was just so many emotions.”

Rickey, a mail carrier, ended up being her champion throughout the cancer journey — even though it was hard as the son of a cancer survivor.

Rickey went with her to every doctor’s appointment, she says. He drove the kids to school, he picked them up. He did all the grocery shopping, cooked every meal, and cleaned the house — and because she couldn’t work when she was sick, he worked overtime hours to pay all of their bills.

“He made sure we didn’t need for anything,” she says. “He was right there. He was Mr. Mom. He definitely stepped up to the plate and was doing everything.”

Shenise’s younger sister, Keirra Perry, told her to stay strong.

“She said, ‘You’re going to fight. You’re going to make it. You’ll be okay,’ Shenise remembers.

Shenise’s mother Angela Perry assured her that medicine had improved and reminded her that breast cancer is no longer a death sentence. Angela and Keirra also went with Shenise and Rickey to her doctor’s appointments and helped her ask questions and take notes. They rallied around her, offering support and encouragement, and cared for her daughter, Zoe, who was a toddler, and newborn Zachary.

Shenise Hardy during cancer treatment.Shenise Hardy

“Shenise is inspirational and unbelievable,” says her surgeon,Dr. Kelly Birt, at Memorial Hermann. “I know that was a really hard time for her to be excited about the birth of her child and then have to get probably the worst news of her life. I remember one of our clinic appointments, she was like, ‘Okay, I’m back. I’m ready to do this.’ And I was like, ‘I’m impressed.’ She’s very resilient.”

In December 2023, Shenise started six months of chemotherapy.

Now, she says. “I’m doing really, really good.”

The Hardy Family, from left: Zachary, Rickey. Shenise, Zoe

It wasn’t until October, nearly a year after being diagnosed, that Shenise shared her cancer journey with friends on Facebook. For the last year, she had only told her immediate family. “I wanted to feel normal,” she says, “I didn’t want a sad party.”

But telling her story encouraged other friends to share theirs — and she learned that many of her friends from high school have also battled breast cancer.

“When I did open up, I heard other stories. Some were sad, and some were good. But I would want people to know, don’t be afraid to open up because it can help you,” she says.

Zoe and Zachary motivated her to get out of bed every day. She stayed focused on them, committed to being a present mom.

Shenise Hardy with her sister Keirra Perry celebrating the end of chemo.Shenise Hardy

“If it went the other way, I didn’t want them to remember me being sick, staying in bed, not fighting,” she says. “They kept me busy. I’m really thankful that I have them.”

“A year ago, you couldn’t tell me that I’d be here for my birthday in October," she says.

And in November, she will celebrate her daughter Zoe’s third birthday and her son’s first birthday.

“I’m just really happy that I’m here to celebrate life,” she says. “I feel like I have a second chance.”

source: people.com