Jacquie Reynolds Beck and Kerry O’Riordan McAdam: Our Road to a Cure
Kerry and Jacquie were family members to many women on the MBCure Board, and they serve as the inspiration and impetus for founding this non-profit.
Who was Jacquie Reynolds Beck?
Jacquie was a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and mother of three. Jacquie grew up on Frontenac Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which also happened to be home to the seven O’Riordan siblings. Jacquie was best friends with the fifth O’Riordan sibling since kindergarten, so naturally she became an irreplaceable member of the O’Riordan clan. To this day, she is affectionately known as the 8th O’Riordan sibling. She was an avid biker, a wildlife enthusiast, an adventure-seeking traveler, a volunteer lacrosse coach, a devoted fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, a lover of all things LSU Tigers and Cal Bears, and known as the person who could light up any room with her infectious smile and laugh. She had a magnetic personality who everyone always wanted to be around.
Who was Kerry O’Riordan McAdam?
Kerry was a daughter, sister, wife, aunt, cousin and friend. Kerry was the youngest daughter of the eldest O’Riordan sibling. Kerry’s love for working out, whether HIIT classes or spin, was contagious; bringing friends along made it even more fun. Her nails were always painted a bright cheery color, and her love language was cooking healthy, organic meals for her friends and family. Kerry radiated positivity, fun energy, and kindness. She went out of her way to make gatherings and people feel special, and one of her famous taglines was “every party needs a prop,” whether it was matching pajamas and face masks for a girls’ night, wigs for the family’s annual cousins vacation, or a British themed birthday party with a life size cutout of Queen Elizabeth for her husband who was missing his family back home in England.
Our MBC Story …
In early 2011, Jacquie had her annual breast exam and screening mammogram, which revealed that she had early stage breast cancer. Jacquie was shocked by her diagnosis, particularly because she had no family history of breast cancer, but grateful that her cancer was detected early when it was still in its localized stage. She immediately met with an oncologist and together they developed an aggressive treatment plan: Jacquie would have a bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive breast surgery. Following her surgeries, Jacquie was prescribed the hormonal therapy, Tamoxifen. She was treated with Tamoxifen for five years at which point she began to go through menopause. After menopause, Jacquie was prescribed Arimidex, another form of hormonal therapy used to treat breast cancer in women after menopause, with a plan to continue this medication for another five years.
Early in 2020, after Jacquie had been in remission for nearly eight years, she suddenly began having pain on her right side near her liver. This pain was accompanied by more generalized symptoms like weight loss, fatigue, and night sweats. At this point, breast cancer recurrence hadn’t crossed Jacquie’s mind and she waited to see if her symptoms resolved on their own. Then, in April 2020, Jacquie’s pain and fatigue became significantly worse, so she went to her primary care provider who then referred her to an oncologist. The oncologist ran the gamut of tests: blood work, an ultrasound, a CT scan, an MRI, and a liver biopsy, which revealed that Jacquie’s breast cancer had spread to her liver, bones, and brain, leading to her diagnosis of Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer in May 2020. Jacquie immediately began treatment with an oral drug called IBrance (CDK4-6 inhibitor) followed by a course of bone (spine) and whole-brain radiation in July and September of 2020. In September of 2020, she switched to treatment with an oral drug called Verzenio (another type of CDK4-6 inhibitor), along with a monthly hormonal therapy (Faslodex injections) to increase the efficacy of the Verzenio. By July 2022, Verzenio was found to have stopped working, and she switched treatment to Xeloda (an oral form of chemotherapy), which no longer required Faslodex injections. In December 2022, it then became apparent that Xeloda was no longer working effectively, as there were clear signs of cancer progression in her liver. On December 21, 2022, Jacquie started on a new infusion treatment called Enhertu. Unfortunately, Enhertu stopped working effectively in June 2023, again due to cancer progression in the liver. In July 2023, Jacquie was on a chemotherapy infusion known as Trodelvy. Sadly, this chemotherapy was found to be ineffective just 1 month later, in August 2023, so she again switched to a new treatment. She was then put on a different infusion chemotherapy regimen with gemcitabine + carboplatin. Just a few months later in December 2023, it was determined that her treatment was no longer working, and she was again switched to another treatment, chemotherapy infusions of Taxol. In February 2024, a new growth was identified on the spine and 10 days of radiation treatment was promptly started. After radiation, systemic treatment was switched to Orserdu. However, this medication did not work. On Tuesday, March 26, 2024, Jacquie passed peacefully surrounded by her loved ones.
Despite this devastating and rather shocking diagnosis given the length of her remission, Jacquie confronted MBC with endless amounts of grace and positivity. Throughout her treatment, Jacquie continued to work full-time until December 2023. When not working, she spent her days watching wildlife with her mom in the Poconos and laughing hysterically with family and friends over literally everything and anything. One of her favorite quotes was “laughter is the best medicine”. Jacquie also continued to bike and workout throughout her MBC journey. In September 2020, Jacquie biked a personal 2020 best of 504 miles (goal was 300 for the Wounded Warrior Project). As if that achievement was not enough, September 2020 also happened to be the same month that Jacquie underwent 15 days of whole-brain radiation. In December 2023, she knocked off a bucket list item when she was able to visit her 50th state by going to Hawaii with her entire family for Christmas and New Years. It has always been a bucket list item to hit all 50 states! Over the last couple years, she was able to make it to Alaska and Hawaii with her family to round out the list of all 50 states that she has visited throughout her lifetime. Visiting all 50 states is just one example of many bucket list items that Jacquie was able to complete.
We wish we could say that our MBC story ends here, but unfortunately it continues.
In June 2019, at the age of 29, Kerry found a lump on her left breast while shaving in the shower. She immediately went to her OB-GYN to get it checked out. Kerry ultimately completed an ultrasound, was told that the lump was nothing more than a benign cyst (spoiler alert: it wasn’t), and was advised to follow-up six months later. At her follow-up appointment in January 2020, Kerry underwent additional testing. This included a biopsy of her lymph nodes, revealing that Kerry did, in fact, have Stage IIB breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes. She then met with a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, and a breast surgeon to determine the best course of treatment. Encouraged by the optimism of her doctors, she began preparing herself for a bilateral mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy and radiation, with hopes of receiving the “all-clear” by the end of 2020. Plans quickly changed when it was discovered that the cancer had already spread to her liver and skull. What Kerry had thought was Stage IIB breast cancer was now a Stage IV diagnosis. With the tumor on her skull posing a risk to her eyesight, Kerry immediately started on oral chemotherapy (Xeloda), before switching to an aromatase inhibitor (Letrozole) and a CDK4-6 inhibitor (Kisqali). Unfortunately, these drugs induced liver injury and triggered autoimmune hepatitis. As a result, Kerry had to stop all of her medication and take steroids (Prednisone) to treat her liver. Kerry started off 2021 with a series of new scans, which revealed no new growth, despite the fact that she had been off her medication for some time. In the fall of 2021, Kerry and her husband traveled to Hawaii. During one of their hikes in this tropical paradise, she developed severe hip pain. Doctors soon discovered new cancer growth, so Kerry started on an indefinite course of IV chemotherapy. In January 2022, Kerry began having severe neck pain. Scans, scans, and more scans showed widespread new cancer growth in her spine, neck, and liver, meaning the current IV chemotherapy stopped working and immediate plans were made to transition to a new form of IV chemotherapy to combat the growth. Her doctors also discovered that the cancer caused her neck to fracture. One month later, Kerry had bolts and plates surgically inserted to stabilize her broken neck.
Just seven days after her surgery, Kerry spoke movingly to over 650 guests at the Inaugural Philadelphia Metsquerade Gala benefiting METAvivor, planned and executed by Kerry, Jacquie, and the women of the MBCure Board. She emphasized the need for more research, more paths to a cure, and more reasons to hope. Kerry reminded us all that “without the development of new drugs that are able to treat and extend the lives of those stricken with MBC, and ultimately, to cure MBC, and without the money required to develop those new drugs, a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer, like the one I received two years ago, will continue to be a death sentence.”
When Kerry was diagnosed at age 29, she was the picture of health and had no family history of breast cancer. Despite her diagnosis, however, Kerry exuded bravery, hope, and positivity, and lived each day with MBC to the fullest. She planned her wedding, spent precious moments with friends and family, and spoiled her beautiful nieces, Sunday Frances, who arrived in November 2020, and Sydney Hazel Goodwin, who arrived in December 2021.
Sadly, at just 31 years old, Kerry died from complications of metastatic breast cancer on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. She passed peacefully in the comfort of her home surrounded by her adoring husband, sweet sister, and loving parents.
What should not be lost in our MBC story is that in addition to what has already been described, Kerry and Jacquie endured countless scans with the never-ending looming anxiety, or “scan-xiety” (at a minimum every 3 months, often times more frequently), many hospitalizations due to complications from both treatments and the disease, procedures (e.g., liver biopsies, repeat biopsies, etc.), the list goes on.
Although the past few years have been incredibly difficult, Jacquie and Kerry never allowed breast cancer to define them or cripple them. Kerry and Jacquie lived every day with love, joy, and laughter— the same way they lived every day before they had breast cancer. Together, they made a conscious decision to fight this battle head on by educating, raising awareness, and fundraising for MBC. The torch has now been passed to us, and we will proudly carry it to honor their legacy until there is a CURE for Metastatic Breast Cancer.
As Kerry voiced at the inaugural gala: “Unless and until a cure is found, tens of thousands of women, some who are young like me and some who are older, will fall victim to the thief and killer that is Metastatic Breast Cancer. Their families will have to witness the suffering and anguish of their loved ones and then carry on under the heavy weight and sense of loss that Metastatic Breast Cancer leaves in its trail of destruction. We must find a cure.”
#WarriorMode #RoadtoaCURE #PositivityWins #StageIVNeedsMore #DontIgnoreStageIV
