News & Announcements

A patient’s story: Pregnant, fighting cancer with St. Luke’s teams on her side

Two women standing in front of St. Luke’s Cancer Institute. — On Sept. 8, Shelby Musgrove celebrated her final chemotherapy infusion at St. Luke’s Cancer Institute in Nampa. Several friends and family came to support her, including her longtime friend Sharayah Lau, whose sign included words of support from those who couldn’t be there to support Musgrove.

By Dave SouthornLast Updated September 9, 2026

Every patient who seeks care at St. Luke’s is unique and treated as such.

But even some healthcare professionals who have met Shelby Musgrove do a double take when hearing about her past year.

Not only was Musgrove pregnant — carrying a baby as a surrogate — she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer during her pregnancy.

And thanks to a multidisciplinary St. Luke’s team, her outcome has been as good as anyone could have hoped.

“Every single person, we just cannot stop raving about St. Luke’s and all their employees,” Musgrove said. “We haven’t met a bad one yet — and I have gone to a lot of appointments.”

Young woman shows before and after photo of shaving her head preparing for chemo. — Before and after Shelby Musgrove had her husband Terry’s help shaving her head during cancer treatment in late March. She said her three kids loved the new look and it quickly grew on her.

A 34-year-old mother of three, Musgrove had long considered surrogacy, especially after seeing a friend go through the experience firsthand. Last year, she found the right fit in a family out of state. After the first attempt was not successful, the next held in October.

“I am a bit weird, I like being pregnant,” Musgrove said with a laugh. “Seeing the connection with the parents and their baby, meeting them for the first time, but being able to help people maybe having difficulty but want a baby? It’s incredibly special.”

The same week of a first trimester obstetrics appointment in December, she felt a lump near her right armpit and breast. With all the hormonal changes occurring, feeling a lump during pregnancy is not uncommon. But Musgrove said, “Thank God I have a great OB” in Dr. Kelly McGuire, who recommended further examination.

After a Christmas Eve biopsy was performed by Dr. Daniel Dickman, Musgrove received a MyChart notification on Jan. 2.

“I was like 97% prepared that it would be benign, but I couldn’t find that word,” she said. “I saw things like ‘carcinoma’ and ‘HER2,’ which I had just seen a commercial mentioning, then it clicked — I had breast cancer. I admit, I started freaking out, just yelled out to my husband, ‘I need you!’ and he hung up his work call immediately.”

Musgrove was diagnosed with HER2-postitive breast cancer, which make up approximately 15-20% of cases. That evening, an extremely difficult phone call had to be made to tell the surrogate parents the news. It was so hard for Musgrove, she found it difficult to speak without tears, so her husband Terry helped inform them.

News & Announcements

A patient’s story: Pregnant, fighting cancer with St. Luke’s teams on her side

By Dave SouthornLast Updated September 9, 2026

Every patient who seeks care at St. Luke’s is unique and treated as such.

But even some healthcare professionals who have met Shelby Musgrove do a double take when hearing about her past year.

Not only was Musgrove pregnant — carrying a baby as a surrogate — she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer during her pregnancy.

And thanks to a multidisciplinary St. Luke’s team, her outcome has been as good as anyone could have hoped.

“Every single person, we just cannot stop raving about St. Luke’s and all their employees,” Musgrove said. “We haven’t met a bad one yet — and I have gone to a lot of appointments.”

After a Christmas Eve biopsy was performed by Dr. Daniel Dickman, Musgrove received a MyChart notification on Jan. 2.

Pregnant young woman smiles while sitting in doctors office. — Shelby Musgrove at her 35-week checkup.

“Pretty quickly, I was like, ‘I’m young, I know I can get treatment and I’ll be OK.’ That was my mindset. ‘We can do this; it’ll be OK,’” Musgrove said. “I know it wasn’t my fault, but they almost have their dream realized and their surrogate gets breast cancer?”

But just after that MyChart message, Musgrove was on the phone about treatment options with St. Luke’s. Immediately, the St. Luke’s team helping her more than doubled to incorporate St. Luke’s Cancer Institute.

Caring for a patient not only facing cancer, but also growing a fetus, it is a delicate act.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, about 1 in 3,000 pregnancies involves a patient who develops breast cancer during pregnancy or soon after delivery. In Musgrove’s case, chemotherapy was recommended. Risks are much greater during the first trimester, but much lower in the second (7-8 times less likely).

Six weeks after diagnosis, Musgrove took her first major step in treatment with a double mastectomy. Though the cancer had not appeared to have been in the other breast, it was a proactive decision as a full-body scan was not appropriate in light of Musgrove’s pregnancy; plus, she said they had done their job feeding three healthy kids.

Young woman smiling while wearing a wig during chemotherapy. — Shelby Musgrove (and her first wig) at her final AC chemotherapy session May 14, the last before she was set to deliver a month later.

“Once we got this incredible care team together, they worked so well together, making sure something we did like my surgery was OK with the other group,” Musgrove said. “My breast surgeon, Dr. Shelley Perkins, I adore her, so kind and caring. Dr. Jon Swerdloff, my oncologist, just amazing. Dr. McGuire, of course, the MFM team with Dr. Alex Bridges, Dr. Thomas Lee, really some special people.”

After recovering from surgery, Musgrove began chemotherapy in March and continued until May. The pause was important to not conflict with delivery or add any complications.

On June 14, the day had finally come — delivery day.

Young woman smiling in doctor office. — Shelby Musgrove celebrates her last OB appointment on June 9, five days before delivering.

For all the hurdles and challenges thrown Musgrove’s way, battling cancer, doing all she can to make sure the baby was healthy and all the while taking care of her own family, she was due for something uncomplicated.

And happily, the delivery went perfectly. The baby girl had a clean bill of health and two happy parents who had traveled to Boise to welcome her to the world.

“They were with me the whole way, I had them on speaker phone at all my consultations … so just a truly wonderful day,” Musgrove said.

That day provided even more options to see St. Luke’s care up close. The nursing staff so impressed Musgrove, she nominated two of them for DAISY Awards, recognizing exemplary care. In a note from the labor and delivery team, RN Bria Sommer said, “I will never forget you.” To that, Musgrove said, “It’s mutual — they made me feel like their only patient and I know I wasn’t.”

Young woman sitting in hospital bed. — Shelby Musgrove was all smiles after delivering a healthy baby girl as a surrogate on June 14 at St. Luke’s Boise.

But in the afterglow of such a wonderful day, something still was lingering in her mind. Now that she had successfully delivered the baby, fighting cancer became the sole focus. How successful was treatment? Had the cancer spread?

Four days postpartum, she had a brain scan. A PET scan came soon after, with chemo resuming a week after delivery.

“It honestly was so hard, mentally,” Musgrove said. “I knew I had to face it, but right after giving birth and all that comes with that, it had this really emotional gravity.”

This time, when the results came back, she had Terry read them.

Indications looked very promising.

On July 13, Dr. Swerdloff told Musgrove two words she had longed for: “cancer free.” On Sept. 8, she had her last of 12 Taxol chemotherapy infusions. She will have radiation treatment later in the month and targeted infusions every three weeks until the end of May at St. Luke’s Cancer Institute in Nampa.

Young woman in gurney poses for photo with older woman. — Throughout her cancer care experience and delivering a baby as a surrogate, Shelby Musgrove said she learned the true meaning of “it takes a village.” Here, she is accompanied by her mom, who flew in from Colorado for five weeks to help, as Musgrove’s chemo port was about to be placed.

There is still work to be done, but going through so much has helped Musgrove appreciate the care and love around her — from a best friend who runs a childcare center who helped take care of her kids to her mother visiting for weeks at a time and even friends she made while getting treatments.

“Boise, Nampa, Meridian, I’ve burned my fair share of gas,” Musgrove said laughing. “When they say it takes a village, I really understand the meaning of it now … friends, family, everyone at St. Luke’s. So many people helped make it possible.”