Our Team
Andrew Silver
Andrew Silver, Page Morton Hunter Professor of English at Mercer University, is an author and playwright. Andrew’s mother died of metastatic breast cancer when he was fifteen years old and his mother just forty-three. Thirty-four years later and still no cure, Andrew’s wife, the poet Anya Krugovoy Silver, died of metastatic breast cancer at forty-nine, when their son Noah was fourteen. Andrew is the interviewer and playwright for IV: Our Lives. His wife’s poetry forms one of the many through-lines of the play. He is the author of Combustible/Burn: A Play (Mercer University) and Minstrelsy and Murder: The Crisis of Southern Humor 1830-1930 (LSU Press).
Emily Garnett
Emily Garnett, 34, was a mom, wife and lawyer turned writer and podcast host of The Intersection of Cancer and Life. Emily won the WEGOHealth award for patient advocacy. When her son was born, she left law practice to stay home with him. In the same week that she celebrated her fifth wedding anniversary and my son turned two, she was diagnosed with metastatic (stage IV) breast cancer at age 32. She documented her life from diagnosis to treatment in her blog, Beyond the Pink Ribbon. She wrote so that no one felt alone even in the darkest corners of this diagnosis and cancer life. She died of metastatic breast cancer in 2020.
Abigail Johnston
Abigail is a daughter, mother, wife, and attorney who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in June of 2017, close on the heels of a early stage diagnosis in March of 2017. Shorlty afterwards, Abigail started her blog “No Half Measures,” where she writes within the lens of her Stage IV diagnosis. Abigail works with Metavivor as a Peer to Peer Advocate, with Living Beyond Breast Cancer as a Hear My Voice Advocate, with After Breast Cancer Diagnosis (ABCD) and she started her own non-profit, Connect IV Legal Services, to recruit attorneys to do pro bono legal work for Stage IV metastatic breast cancer patients.
Raejan Noh
Raejan Noh is an English major at Mercer University, who has served as project coordinator on IV: Our Lives as part of her senior internship. She has spearheaded the project’s grant writing, assisted on actor workshops of the script, and helped edit the play.
Terlisa Sheppard
Terlisa Sheppard is a 4-time breast cancer survivor who was originally diagnosed in 1998 with stage 3, HER2+, ER+, PR-, breast cancer at age 31, while 8 ½ months pregnant. She has been living with stage IV metastatic breast cancer for over 17 years, with metastases to her bones, lungs, liver, spine, abdomen, and brain. While going through countless chemotherapy and radiation treatments; Terlisa has been hospitalized for things like a blood clot in her lungs, pneumonia, and a total hip replacement, which included an extended stay for a MERSA staph infection. Through her journey, she has inspired others to fight through their diagnosis and live their best life, one day at a time. She is the proud founder of a small, non-profit breast cancer organization called, Terlisa Fights Breast Cancer, Inc. and a co-author of “Unbreakable Spirit, Rising Above The Impossible.” Because of Terlisa’s continuous work in the community, she has received various awards and recognition to include receiving the Woman of Courage Award from the National Women’s Political Caucus in Washington, D.C.
Julia Maues
Julia Maues was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer while pregnant at age 29. After her son was born, she found out the cancer was metastatic and had spread to her brain, liver and bones. She’s been in active treatment since 2013. Julia is a member of the 2018 Living Beyond Breast Cancer Hear My Voice class of volunteers. She also participates as an advocate with Georgetown Breast Cancer Advocates, a group at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, in Washington, D.C., that works with researchers, clinicians and other stakeholders to ensure that research is patient-centered, innovative and accessible. In addition, Julia has served on American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guideline panels, as a reviewer for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, and is an active member of two local support groups and closed Facebook groups for people with metastatic breast cancer.
Angela Baker
Angela Baker is a three-time breast cancer survivor who is currently living her life to the fullest with stage IV metastatic breast cancer. After her third diagnosis, Angela decided it was time to leave her job to focus on her health and helping other people. Soon after, she received a call from another woman fighting breast cancer asking for a ride to the doctor. She needed someone to not only to drive her but support her through the difficult treatments. It was then that Angela realized her passion for supporting and inspiring other cancer patients throughout their journey. She founded a 501(c)3 organization entitled Angel in Disguise Inc. to provide transportation and support to breast cancer patients in Charlotte, NC. There is an enormous barrier and racial disparity in health care, making it difficult for certain cancer patients to gain access to quality care and transportation. Angel in Disguise is bridging that gap.
Kelly Shanahan, MD
Kelly is a mother is a wife, a daughter, a doctor, an advocate, a woman LIVING with metastatic breast cancer. She was diagnosed with stage IIB breast cancer in April 2008, and after five years, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in virtually every bone in her body, with a fractured vertebrae and deeply compromised break left femur. After an unconventional 14-month course of combination IV chemo and zometa, followed by a more conventional aromatase inhibitor, she has remained NEAD – No Evidence of Active Disease — since April 2014. Neuropathy from the chemo cost Kelly her career, but she has found a new purpose in advocacy. She was medical director of METUP for two years; a volunteer and grant reviewer for METAvivor; a member of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance and the new formed ABC Global Alliance; and a consumer reviewer for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.
Janice Cowden
Janice Cowden was diagnosed with stage I triple-negative early-stage breast cancer in 2011. She was diagnosed with metastatic disease in 2016. She’s a volunteer for the Living Beyond Breast Cancer Helpline, a member of the Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s 107 Hear My Voice Outreach Volunteer group, and advocates through social media. “What I enjoy most about doing these things,” she explains, “are the connections I make with others who are living with all stages of breast cancer, and in particular those with metastatic disease.”
Michael Kovarik
Michael Kovarik was a retired elementary school teacher, author of Healing Within: My Journey with Breast Cancer and former host of the radio show Healing Journeys with Michael Kovarik on Dreamvisions 7 Radio Network. Following a breast cancer diagnosis in January 2007, Michael tested for the BRCA 2 gene, of which he learned he was a carrier. After seeking treatment, Michael went into remission. However, in September 2015, a CAT revealed abnormal lymph nodes, and a biopsy later revealed his cancer had returned and metastasized to his lymph nodes. Michael was active within the metastatic breast cancer community, participating in advocacy organizations, such as the Male Breast Cancer Coalition and MBC Alliance, and serving as the president of Metavivor.. Michael has also been a consistent contributor to Anti-Cancer Club, an online blogging community for patients and caregivers to share their stories, treatment information and inspire others whose lives are touched by cancer. He died of metastatic breast cancer in 2021..
Christine Hodgdon
Christine Hodgdon was diagnosed with de novo metastatic breast cancer in April 2015. She is a leadership volunteer for the Hear My Voice program with Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) and is an ANGEL advocacy volunteer with the Tigerlily Foundation. Christine serves as a peer mentor for the Young Survival Coalition and LBBC. Before cancer, Christine loved to travel and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 2011-2013; she had a career as a conservation biologist working to save habitat for endangered species. Now Christine is using her science background to create an open-access online forum thestormriders.org that provides the most recent and scientifically accurate information about breast cancer and its treatments, including metastatic breast cancer clinical trials and drugs and therapies in the pipeline. She also has created a pilot program, pairing oncology experts with new patient advocates at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
Marina Pomare Kaplan
Diagnosed at stage II in 2011, Marina progressed to stage IV, metastatic, in 2013, eventually spreading to her bones, lungs, liver, brain, kidney, and distal lymph nodes. She went through 13 lines of treatment, including 7 clinical trials, and had several interventional surgical and radiology procedures (including Y90, sternal resection and reconstruction, proton therapy and Gamma Knife radiosurgery). Marina retired from a happy and fulfilling career in population health/applied epidemiology and became involved in advocacy. She was a member of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance, a patient advocate volunteer with METAvivor, and a Living Beyond Breast Cancer Hear My Voice volunteer. A crucial member of the original cast of IV: Our Lives, Marina’s health prevented her from the inaugural workshop shows in Washington DC in 2019. She died in January of 2020, leaving her twin daughters and beloved husband. “I raise my voice,” she said, “because we have lost too many to metastatic breast cancer.”
Jeannie Ross
Jeannie Ross was diagnosed denovo with metastatic breast cancer in the fall of 2005. She is currently NEAD on her 9th line of treatment. Jeannie was an athlete and a marathon runner and continued to race until the summer of 2012 when her disease progressed to her liver. Jeannie is a graduate of Emerson College in Boston and holds a degree in Directing. She owned her own theatre, Theatre East, for many years in Portland, Maine. Jeannie also was a Teachers’ Union President and taught English, Speech, and Drama at both the college and secondary levels. After leaving teaching in 2005, Jeannie opened her own personal training gym and trained athletes for races. She continued running marathons for six years into her mets diagnosis but retired in 2012. Jeannie is currently very active in the online Mets Community. She started her own online support group in 2017. Today there are over 1500 members with MBC. She is also writing her memoir, Dying by Inches. Jeannie and her husband, Pierre, live in Maine with their three cats, Lola, Otis and Charlie.
Tiara Watkins
Tiara Watkins is a junior at Mercer University. She is a Media Studies major with an extensive background in acting and theatre. She has been involved in the process of developing the play and working to help bring the production on stage. She has served as an actor and assistant director for the play’s first performances.
Marianna Baccalo
Marianna is a senior at Mercer University studying English and media studies. She has served as the project’s videographer, and is currently filming performances for her senior project on the people and performances of IV: Our Lives.
Natalia Padrón
Natalia is a single mother of two girls and one boy. She has lived with Breast Cancer since 2013 which spread to her ovaries in 2015. She is a Living Beyond Breast Cancer advocate focused on education for the Hispanic community and graduated in the Hear My Voice Class of 2017. She never realized how lonely it was to live with MBC until she had the courage to meet the LBBC community. Ever since then, she has been raising her voice for the Hispanic community. “We need to support each other,” she explains, “because we all speak the same language, THE CANCER LANGUAGE and no one will understand us better than us.” Natalia wants to use her voice to help the metastatic community: “I want my life to inspire others. I want to make their lives with cancer easier. I want to be their voice while I’m still alive.” She serves as an ambassador for Metastatic Trial Talk.
Tianna Ross
Tianna Ross is an undergraduate senior at Mercer University studying criminal justice. Her main interest lies in capturing beautiful moments through photography. She got involved with the project in October, 2018, because she believes that every man or women living with this disease deserves to have their voice heard. This project gives them that chance in a creative way.
Kate Lemon
Kate Lemon is a junior at Mercer University double-majoring in Psychology and Criminal Justice and minoring in Sociology and English. She’s been involved with the play since January 2019 as an interviewer, editor, and audio technician.
