Survivor, advocate, leader: Dataw's Marj Shymske 'digs deep' following breast cancer diagnosis
April 9, 2025
"Here we go again."
That's what went through Marj Shymske’s mind when she was diagnosed with breast cancer last October. She had just celebrated five years of being endometrial cancer-free, a huge recovery milestone, just to be hit with the news.
The New York native has been through a lot since she and her husband Greg moved to the Lowcountry over a decade ago, but her experience with the care team at Beaufort Memorial both then and now emphasized the importance of connecting with your caregivers, asking questions and being an active participant in your own care.
Like clockwork
Marj, 66, moved to Dataw Island from Chicago with Greg 11 years ago. They love it here, spending lots of time golfing, playing tennis and enjoying the Lowcountry sunshine.
After she turned 40, Marj was “religious” about her annual mammograms. Last May, her screening showed a small spot. She underwent an ultrasound during that same appointment. The subsequent biopsy came back negative.
“They told me to come back in the fall – thank the Lord,” Marj said. The mammogram showed the same spot, as did the ultrasound, and she underwent another biopsy.
Three days later, she learned that she had breast cancer.
Emotions flooded in.
“I thought, ‘I’m going to die. This is going to kill me, and I’m too young,” Marj said.
“I had already had my cancer – why me? What have I done?"
A care connection
Marj’s gynecologist, Dr. Eve Ashby with Lowcountry Medical Group Specialty Care, was invested in her care following the breast cancer diagnosis – the same way she was when Marj was diagnosed six years ago with endometrial cancer after a “wonky” result on a pap test.
“She saved my life,” Marj explained, recalling her experience six years ago. “All the tests were coming back negative, but not that pap. ‘There’s just something about it,’ she said.”
When it came to her decision to seek care at home in Beaufort, Marj said that Dr. Ashby’s compassion and connection to her patients was a huge part of it.
“I had so much faith in her that it was only natural to me that, when my result came back for the breast cancer, that I would stay local,” she said. “It never occurred to me otherwise. And when I met the doctors for this surgery, when I saw how great they were at getting me in, why would I go anywhere else?”
Read More: Take Control of Your Breast Cancer Risk Factors
A well-oiled machine
Right from the second she received her diagnosis, Marj had countless questions. When she met with the breast cancer care team initially, they made her feel at ease.
Breast oncology surgeon Dr. Tara Grahovac, radiation oncologist Dr. Jonathan Briggs and Dr. J. Eric Turner, Marj’s medical oncologist, worked with the entire rest of the Breast Health Center team as a “well-oiled machine.”
“I always felt like there was somebody there for me,” Marj said about the compassion and support of the entire team – surgeons, oncologists, nurses, anesthesiologists, social workers, everyone. “They made me feel like an individual and not just a patient.”
With the world of Google at her fingertips, the information available about Marj’s diagnosis was overwhelming.
“You want to just Google all the time,” she admitted. “But you have to be your own advocate, and at some point, you have to dig deep and do what you have to do. I had to take control of what I thought was the best information and go to the people I trusted.”
Pledge the Pink
In Chicago, years before she’d receive her own diagnosis, Marj was no stranger to breast cancer support events, having walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure twice.
In 2019, Marj found herself involved through connections at her Lowcountry home on Dataw Island with “Pledge the Pink,” an event born in 2011 dedicated to funding breast cancer screening, treatment, outreach and research.
Now, she’s the committee chair for the event’s Day 1 walk on Dataw kicking off the event, which is scheduled for Oct. 16-19.
This year, she has her own experience as a survivor to draw from.
She said she feels lucky to have been here when she received her diagnosis and is grateful that her care followed the pattern of compassionate, reliable care she’s come to know here at home in Beaufort.
“Breast cancer – or any kind of cancer – is not a death sentence,” Marj said. “Mentally, I’m so thankful and grateful that we caught this, and I’ve had the very best care. I’m very blessed.”
