Shanice Talks Surviving Breast Cancer, Portraying Michelle Obama

Source: Shanice / W&W PR

There’s a lot going on in the world today but Shanice Wilson-Knox, better known eponymously as Shanice, stays smiling through it all. And she’s helping spread that joy and humor to others in her latest project: starring in a lead role in an Off-Broadway musical.

“There’s so much chaos going on and this [musical] is just a way to get away from it all and just have fun and laugh and dance and sing. It’s just needed right now,” the GRAMMY-nominated singer told Elev8. Shanice is starring in 44: The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Obama Musical as none other than former first lady Michelle Obama and she’s tapping into her inner charisma and boldness to bring the role to life.

“When I was asked to do the role, at first I was like ‘Me?! You want me to play Michelle?!’ I was very nervous in the beginning, I’m not going to lie,” Shanice says of landing the lead role in Eli Bauman’s satirical musical about the rise and presidency of Barack Obama. The “I Love Your Smile” singer was wary about stepping into the shoes of the highly admired and regarded former first lady and wanted to do her justice. “[I decided] I’m just going to play a loving wife and a loving mother and play a strong woman and that’s what I did. I’m so glad that I was up for the challenge.”

Being a strong woman isn’t something Shanice has to pretend to be, she embodies strength, resilience, and bravery everyday. That was put to the test when Shanice noticed a cyst in one of her breasts which led to a diagnosis that would change her life forever.

“I get cysts all the time and the doctors don’t usually worry about cysts. [But] I noticed the cyst didn’t go away because they normally come and go. I was like, ‘Okay, I need to get brave and just go and get checked.’ And I did.”

That’s when Shanice learned she had something called ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, a type of breast cancer that forms in the milk duct and has a low risk of spreading or becoming life threatening. Doctors informed Shanice that her cancer was at stage zero but even that sent shockwaves of fear through the singer who had had a breast cancer scare eight years prior that frightened her so much that she “never went back to the doctor again.” This time however, the singer faced her fears and her future and underwent a double mastectomy in the summer of 2024.

“Take both, take everything,” Shanice recalls telling her doctors. “If you’re going to remove my breast, just do both because I don’t want anything popping up on the other breast. I don’t want to have to go through this again.” During her over eight-hour long procedure, doctors found another Stage 1 tumor in her breast that they were able to remove that would’ve gone unnoticed had Shanice not gone to get checked, despite her apprehension.

Today, three months later, Shanice is cancer-free and sharing her story in the hopes of inspiring others to do the same.

“We need to stop being afraid. Put the fear aside because you can live a long life if you catch things early,” Shanice says. “Go to the doctor, get your mammograms, and get your ultrasounds, it’s so important. It will literally save your life.” To help encourage other Black women to take their health seriously, Shanice shared the story of her diagnosis and double mastectomy to the public with an Instagram post in September, hoping others can learn from her story and tap into their own inner courage.

“It took me three months to talk about it. It was so hard for me to not talk about it without crying because it’s traumatic, I went through a lot,” Shanice says with tears in her eyes. “Sometimes you have to go through a test in order to have a testimony.”

These days, Shanice is still in recovery and taking things one day at a time. She’s changed her diet and stays in constant prayer to “stay on the other side of this thing.” But no matter what the future brings, Shanice leans on the love of her family, her husband Flex Alexander, her friends and prayer warriors, and the love of God to keep a smile on her face every day.

“Now that this has happened, just waking up everyday makes me smile,” Shanice says. “God has given me another chance at life. Every day I wake up and I smile and I say ‘Thank you, God, for another day.’”

Catch Shanice live on stage as Michelle Obama in 44: The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Obama Musical, now playing at The Suzanne Roberts Theater in Philadelphia, Pa. through Nov. 3.

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