Item Description

Listening to Blues music is a passion of mine.  While going through treatment the summer of 2016, I went out to hear friends play the Blues frequently.  When I couldn’t keep my eyes open from fatigue, I spent lots of time on my couch listening to blues music. My top notch medical team and the love and support from my family and friends kept me going, kept me strong, kept me positive and kept me from, “getting the blues.”  Hence the blue chair.  This chair has been a group effort thanks to the work and input from my team of young cancer survivors.

My rare chair has been in my family for years.  I nursed and rocked my son, Michael and daughter, Nicole in this chair.  I thought “Rock Me Baby” would be perfect for my chair’s theme. Turns out, “Rock Me Baby” is not about rocking an infant.  It’s about a relationship between a man and a woman, which explains the additions to my chair.  “Rock Me Baby” is a blues standard based on Big Bill Broonzy’s 1940 song, “Rockin’ Chair Blues.”  B.B.King’s and Muddy Water’s renditions are credited for making it well known. 

I will always be indebted to the brave and determined breast cancer patient activists with the HER2+ trait like me.  It is a very aggressive strain of cancer.  In the 1990’s, this savvy group of women held rallies, pounded on doors, marched in parades and held press conferences demanding access to the antibody drug trastuzumab that we now call Herceptin.  It is a miracle for me and others with the HER2+ trait.  Without these persistent “Wild Women” and the National Breast Cancer Coalition we wouldn’t have access to the drug that extends my life and the lives of many others.

Item Special Note

About The Artist

Mary Kae's breast cancer was detected by a routine mammogram.  She had three surgeries, 18 weeks of chemo, radiation and one year of Herceptin for her Her2 trait.  Working on the Rare Chair Affair with other cancer survivors in a non-medical setting has been a highlight of her cancer journey.  She is fortunate that her cancer was detected very early and she was able access fabulous care.  All women in this country should have access to mammograms and quality health care regardless of their income or family situation.   

Mary Kae holds a BS degree in Elementary Education and Biology and a Masters degree in Early Childhood Special Education. She is a retired educator in the Milwaukee Public Schools and was an adjunct instructor at Carroll University. Mary Kae is a Past President of the League of Women Voters and represents the LWV on several coalitions that focus on social justice and voting rights. Mary Kae enjoys being a community volunteer, reading, yoga, traveling and listening to Blues music.