Lillian Walker Shelton: Living Fully With Metastatic Breast Cancer

— By Megan Brown, ABCD Marketing Manager

April 30, 2026

Lillian Walker Shelton, originally from Philadelphia and now living in the DC metro area, is a mental health therapist who spends her days supporting others. She’s also a devoted sister, a proud Eagles fan, and someone who finds joy in music, travel, and time with loved ones.

“I really love my family,” she shares. That connection to people and to purpose has shaped how she approaches every part of her life, including her experience with breast cancer.

A Diagnosis in an Uncertain Time

Lillian’s initial breast cancer diagnosis came in early 2020, right as the world was beginning to change due to COVID-19.

“I felt a lump at my collarbone and thought, I don’t know what this is,” she recalls. Appointments for mammograms and biopsies led to a diagnosis of Stage 0 ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

Meanwhile, the pandemic was impacting hospitals and changing care protocols.

“I had double mastectomy surgery in the morning, and by the afternoon they were calling my friend to come pick me up,” she says. “With everything happening with COVID, they didn’t want me to stay in the hospital.”

Because of Lillian’s early-stage diagnosis, her doctor was optimistic. “I didn’t have to take Tamoxifen, do chemo, or have radiation. It looked hopeful, like we had it and that was it,” Lillian says.

Two Years Later, a New Metastatic Breast Cancer

In 2022, after returning from a family cruise with persistent back pain, Lillian sought medical attention again and was sent for a CT scan that revealed lesions on her bones. She was living with a new Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (MBC). “I was in shock.”

Lillian faced not only the emotional weight of the diagnosis but also intense, daily physical challenges. “There was so much pain, I could barely walk. I developed a new identity of being a disabled person,” she says. Lillian was also hospitalized four different times from cancer complications.

Her life shifted in profound ways with mobility becoming more difficult and some of her bones breaking. “My left leg broke when I was standing on the beach. The wave hit my leg and it broke.” Later, she required a full hip replacement. “Managing all these things and the cancer, it’s like having another full-time job.”

And yet, even in the face of these realities, Lillian remains grounded in a powerful truth: “I am not in the bed and I am not dead. I am living with it.”

Learning You Can’t Do It Alone

Lillian’s perspective on navigating cancer is deeply shaped by her past. As a teenager, she watched her mother go through, and ultimately pass away from, cervical cancer. In fact, Lillian’s mother, who was a teacher, recently had her kindergarten classroom dedicated in her honor, and Lillian and her two brothers attended the ceremony.

“Unfortunately, my mother’s illness and her death taught me what you can do to help yourself get through cancer,” she reflects.

That lesson is clear and unwavering: connection is essential. “There are a lot of things you can do by yourself, but cancer is not one of them.”

This belief led her to seek out support, build community, and eventually find ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis.

Finding ABCD and a Way to Give Back

Lillian first learned about ABCD through someone she met at the Living Beyond Breast Cancer MBC Conference. “I’d heard ABCD mention to contact them if you wanted to become a Mentor. And I thought, I’ll do it.”

For Lillian, becoming a Mentor wasn’t only about helping others, it was about using her time in a meaningful way. “The other thing that I have focused on a lot since my disease has become metastatic is how I spend my time and what I do with my life. Being an ABCD Mentor is a good use of my time.”

As both a therapist and an MBC thriver, Lillian understands the value peer-to-peer support brings. Through ABCD, she’s able to offer something deeply personal: shared experience.

“It’s individualized. It’s one-on-one,” she says. “You’re able to be a sounding board to someone else and say, ‘Yeah, I do understand.’ Sometimes it’s talking about things like ‘Does your chemo make you nauseous?’ or ‘How do you feel a couple days after?’ It’s reassurance that you’re not the only one.”

For Lillian, each relationship with an ABCD Participant is different. Some prefer phone calls, while others prefer to text, but Lillian always meets them where they are. “I adjust to what their needs are,” she explains.

Living Fully, Giving Freely

When asked what she hopes her Participants take away from their conversations with her, Lillian’s answer is simple and powerful. “I really hope that they feel a little bit more peace, that they feel like someone actually listened to them and understands where they’re coming from,” she says.

After reflecting on what she wishes more people would realize about MBC, Lillian says: “At least once every two weeks, someone comments that once I finish chemo, that’ll be it, or asks me when I finish chemo. But this is my life now, I’ll always be in treatment.”  

Despite the challenges MBC brings, Lillian continues to show up. “I’m still dealing with pain every day and a lot of uncertainty, but I’m handling it the way that I can.”

Now through ABCD, she’s helping others living with MBC do the same, one conversation, one connection, and one moment of peace at a time.

Lillian was diagnosed with Stage 0 DCIS in 2020, and in January 2022, she was diagnosed with a new Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.