Clea Shearer from The Home Edit Faces Her 8th Breast Cancer Surgery
Clea Shearer Araya Doheny/Getty Images for Baby2Baby
The Home Edit’s Clea Shearer has recently undergone her eighth surgery following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2022.
In a recent social media update, Shearer, 42, disclosed that she had surgery on Tuesday, January 28, after her doctor discovered a wound at the site of an incision that had opened up to a breast implant over the weekend.
“I didn’t anticipate needing surgery today,” the co-founder of the lifestyle company shared via Instagram before her procedure. “He took one glance at it and asked, ‘What are you doing on Monday?’ My heart sank because I knew what was coming next.”
Shearer, who also featured in the Netflix series Get Organized With The Home Edit, was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2022, publicly announcing the news via Instagram in April of that year. Her most recent surgery follows her announcement in November 2022 that she was “cancer-free.”
Shearer’s heartfelt post addressed how she believed that her seventh surgery, which took place in November 2024, was the final one. “I celebrated what I *thought* was my last surgery (at least for a long while). Lucky number 7 was supposed to be it!” she shared. “But two months later, I find myself at the hospital for my 8th.”
The surprising find may necessitate further surgeries, as Shearer mentioned in her post. “The frightening aspect of today’s surgery is that there’s a significant chance it could lead to my 9th. I’ve been advised to prepare myself emotionally, as swapping my implant might not succeed, which means I’ll need a larger reconstruction involving tissue from my latissimus dorsi muscle in my back,” Shearer explained.
After her procedure, Shearer updated her concerned fans on Instagram Stories, posting a selfie that showed her giving a thumbs up from her hospital bed. “In recovery now and just had 264 saltine crackers and peanut butter,” she captioned the Story. “The surgery was successful, so now I’m just hopeful the upcoming weeks go well to avoid another surgery.”
Shearer’s initial breast cancer diagnosis, classified as stage 1 mammary carcinoma, came after she discovered a lump in her breast in February 2022. Shearer recounted that she ultimately found she had two tumors, each measuring one centimeter.
“[They] are aggressive and rapidly progressing — but I detected it early,” Shearer wrote, emphasizing that, “If I had not taken matters into my own hands, my situation would be drastically different now.”
She added in her 2022 announcement that sharing her experience publicly gave “cancer a sense of purpose,” and expressed hope that her story might encourage others to “self-examine regularly, advocate for themselves, and prioritize their health over their busy schedules — then this will have meant something.”
