On The Mend: Monyetta Shaw Reveals She Beat Breast Cancer, Celebrates Survivor Status For 45th Birthday

Amid expressing immense gratitude for 45 years of life, Monyetta Shaw is opening up about her frightening breast cancer diagnosis—and now that she’s cancer-free, she’s on a mission to raise awareness and help women recognize the warning signs.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, published May 31, the entrepreneur and Real Housewives of Atlanta alum turned survivor, revealed that she was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer on Nov. 8, 2024. Doctors informed her that she had developed a slow-growing form of stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common type of breast cancer. Sadly, Black women are disproportionately affected by breast cancer, often being diagnosed at a younger age than white women. They also face a higher mortality rate from the disease and are twice as likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer, an especially aggressive and difficult-to-treat form.

Nearly a decade before her official diagnosis, Shaw underwent a biopsy for a lump in her breast, which came back benign. However, last year, while doing a self-check, she felt an unusual sensation in her left breast, something she had never experienced before. It immediately raised concern and prompted her to take action.

“I felt this random sensation that I can’t really describe in my left boob. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” Shaw explained. “It was literally like my body was alerting me that something was wrong.”

After going for a routine mammogram, doctors confirmed her breast cancer diagnosis, “one of the hardest and scariest moments” of her life.

“Everything around me stopped. My heart dropped. I was afraid. I was angry. I was just numb,” she told PEOPLE of the moment she received the heartbreaking call about her condition. 

The Road To Recovery

Shaw didn’t stay down for long. She sprang into action, weighing her options carefully. At first, she considered undergoing a double mastectomy, a surgical procedure to remove both breasts.

However, after receiving favorable results from her genetic testing, she opted for a less invasive approach, a lumpectomy, where the breast tumor and a small amount of surrounding tissue are removed to treat the cancer. 

On Jan. 27, 2025, she had surgery to remove the cancer. Having long wanted to remove her breast implants, she also took the opportunity to do so. Her plastic surgeon performed the explant procedure and gave her a breast lift following the lumpectomy. She then completed 16 days of radiation treatment and, on May 2 this year, celebrated a major milestone, ringing the bell to mark the end of her cancer journey.

Reflecting on the unwavering support she received during her recovery, Shaw expressed heartfelt gratitude to her husband, Heath Shaw, as well as her former Real Housewives of Atlanta castmates—Kandi, Porsha, Cynthia, and Shamea—for standing by her side through it all. She also shared that her ex-fiancé, NE-YO, was a strong source of support during her journey. The two co-parent their daughter Madilyn “Maddie,” 14, and son Mason, 13.

“He was absolutely supportive,” Shaw revealed.”NE-YO was just showing up for me in a major way and just always asking and making sure everything was okay. He was like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna beat this.’”

Now cancer-free, Shaw is passionate about inspiring other women to prioritize their health, get regular checkups, and stay in tune with their bodies because early detection can save lives.

To mark both her recovery and her 45th birthday on May 31, she turned the celebration into a statement: guests were asked to wear pink in honor of breast cancer awareness.

“I am so glad I chose to listen to my gut, and not ignore the fact that my body was screaming at me that something was wrong,” she added in a statement. “I’m also so grateful to the doctors and nurses who immediately took me in and gave me the proper care to now be able to say I’m cancer free. I really want to inspire everyone to pay attention and get checked out if anything feels wrong. Because I didn’t dismiss the warning signs, we caught the cancer early and now I can be here with my babies!” 

Congrats to Monyetta Shaw on being cancer-free!

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