Victoria knows the importance of routine screenings.
I’m alive and able to mother my children because of cancer research from the late 90s.
In November 2018, Victoria was shocked when a routine mammogram led to a cancer diagnosis at the age of 40. She didn’t have a family history of cancer, regularly saw her doctor, was active, and was in good health – other than being a bit sleep deprived from parenting two little kids and working full time. If she had any signs of cancer, they were missed.
Following her mammogram and diagnosis with Stage 2B HER2+ breast cancer, Victoria had a bilateral mastectomy and two subsequent surgeries to clear the margins, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. She finished treatment in March 2020, and remains free of cancer today. Coming from the least populated state, Victoria knows first-hand the challenges faced by rural patients and their doctors, and advocates for better access to cancer care for rural patients.
She credits her survival to the drug Herceptin, which was approved by the FDA in 1998, and appreciates research that is happening now to help future cancer patients.