Monyetta Shaw-Carter opens about being diagnosed with breast cancer.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta star shared her diagnosis in 2024, and has recently opened up about it. “I had a biopsy about 10 years ago and it came back benign,” she said in a recent interview. “Then last year in September I was doing a self-check because I felt this random sensation that I can’t really describe in my left boob. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It was literally like my body was alerting me that something was wrong.”
She went on to say that a month later she had a mammogram where professionals identified the lump and revealed that she was diagnosed with slow-growing stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma. “It was obviously one of the hardest and scariest moments of my life,” she said, about the phone call she received from her doctor with the diagnosis. “Everything around me stopped. My heart dropped. I was afraid. I was angry. I was just numb,” she added.
Shaw-Carter’s treatment included 16 rounds of radiation and a lumpectomy, a procedure that includes removing the tumor and minimal amounts of surrounding tissue while preserving as much of the breast tissue as possible.
“While doing all of the biopsies and MRIs I was first considering having a double mastectomy. But after my genetic testing came back favorable, and after sitting in my reality for some time, I decided on the lumpectomy,” she said.
Monyetta Shaw-Carter rang the bell to mark the end of her treatment. She recently had a 45th pink-themed birthday party to celebrate her being in remission. She is on the mission to tell her story and spread awareness about the disease. “It’s so important for me to share this story because I hope to inspire others not to dismiss their gut feeling,” she said. “Our body speaks to us and when it does we have to listen. It can be a matter of life or death.”