Meet Breanne Mack

“I was born and raised in Aberdeen and met my husband Jared at NSU where we both attended college. In 2021, Jared took a job teaching building trades at Northeast Technical High School in Watertown. We were thrilled at the opportunity to move to the area where Jared’s family lives. We purchased a home on Lake Poinsett to continue to raise our three sons, Denver (senior), Phoenix (sophomore), and Raleigh (8th grade) who all attend school in Lake Norden. Turns out the house had many issues with the plumbing and central air, as well as faulty appliances, which have been a nightmare to fix and depleted our savings.

In 2022 I noticed I had a big lump in my neck. I went to the doctor and the biopsy came back as thyroid cancer. In February 2023 I had my first surgery to remove half of my thyroid and I was told all was well afterwards. Fall 2023 came and I had intense lower back and leg pain. I noticed my right foot was dragging a little bit when I walked. A week before Halloween, I went out the front door at 6am to let my dogs out and fell down the stairs. It took two months to figure out that I had a large tumor on my spine.

Metastatic thyroid carcinoma was my NEW diagnosis. I went to Mayo Clinic in February 2024 and had two surgeries on my spine, a rib removal, rods, screws, and a cage added to ‘hold me together’. The following May, Jared and I spent two weeks at Mayo doing radiation. Afterwards, I had to leave my job as a school counselor due to my pain. My life felt like complete and total chaos. The remaining portion of my thyroid was removed in December 2024. Then last summer, I did radioactive iodine treatment as some additional metastases were found in my lungs, rib, and spine. We have been through so much, but remain hopeful and positive no matter what comes our way.” – Breanne M.