Article by Jami Cooper
Shannon P. Smith knows full well the impact that cancer has on a family. Her father passed away when she was 17 after a grueling battle with lung cancer, she has watched her mother fight cancer more than once, and she has other family members who have significant histories with cancer as well. Because of Shannon’s past experiences, she has always advocated for the importance of early detection and being an advocate for your own health. She began volunteering with the American Cancer Society in high school and continued her efforts through college, law school, and in to her law practice as a Team Captain for her firm’s Relay for Life teams year after year. That advocacy became even more vibrant in the last year as she received a cancer diagnosis of her own.
In September 2022, through routine diagnostic testing, Shannon received a breast cancer diagnosis that led to a bilateral mastectomy just two months later. Just before her reconstructive surgery, which was scheduled for early summer, and after being increasingly sick during the months following the mastectomy, she received news that she had a giant abdominal mass – attached to her ovary — that would require an immediate surgical response. She was thereafter delivered the second round of bad news in six months – she had ovarian cancer. Since that time, Shannon has undergone an emergency total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, infracolic omentectomy, and her planned reconstructive surgery.
Shannon wants to flip the script on how we talk about diagnoses like the ones she received. “We need to normalize talking about women’s issues. Advocating for yourself can be challenging, even for those of us who are trained to advocate for others. If we can make people aware of what tests and scans for which they need to be asking, then maybe we can get earlier detection of these cancers,” she says. For that reason, Shannon posts on social media and talks to anyone who will listen about her own experiences – in as much detail as they want. She hopes that she can encourage others to seek medical care and can lessen the aspects of the “unknown” that so often lead people to put their own health on the back burner. Not only does Shannon share the details of procedures and her Amazon shopping list of “key products” for breast and ovarian cancer surgeries, but also she openly and sincerely volunteers to attend appointments with absolutely anyone – whether they are going for a routine test or meeting with a surgical oncologist. She explains: “I know that people fail to get the test or ignore that pain they are feeling because they are afraid. Being informed is what conquers fear for me. I’ve been through it. I have information that I wish I had when I started, and I will share all of it with anyone who will listen.”
Through her experience, Shannon, a litigation attorney, learned that her colleagues – both those in her firm and those lawyers that were representing opposing parties – were extremely understanding and accommodating. Most of those engaged in the profession showed her kindness, understanding, and support. However, there were others who did not, which led to significant stress during an already stressful time. If she could tell lawyers anything about how to help others in our profession who are faced with the issues, she would say: “we need to approach each other with kindness and understanding, especially when our fellow lawyers are delivered devastating, life-altering cancer diagnoses. If you can help alleviate some stress from their lives – do it.”
Shannon is back to work now, and she insists that her cancer advocacy will not stop. In fact, in her role as President-Elect of the State Bar, she recently began efforts to provide lawyers a platform for supporting the WVU Cancer Institute – “Lawyers for LUCAS” — which she will share more about in coming months. “It’s important to me to give in whatever way I can – to get people information, to allay fears, and to support West Virginia’s resources for early detection,” she says. Shannon was nominated by Jami Cooper.
