Valerie Schmitt Team Valerie

The discovery & diagnosis: 
I quit breastfeeding  at the end of April due to starting a new job on May 1st.  A few weeks into the month of May I was very sick with flu-like and sinus symptoms and pain to my left breast.  I went to an ER where I was told there was no way I had mastitis, that it sounded like a virus and was given sinus meds.  The nausea and pain continued until one Sunday in June (the 3rd) when I felt a shooting pain going to my left breast.  I discovered a large lump.  By the next Tuesday I was in my OB's office, followed by a breast cancer specialist who gave me ultrasounds, ordered mammograms and a biopsy.  The biopsy results came on June 15th and confirmed breast cancer, triple negative.  I am stage 2 based on the tumor size (around 4 cm) and we are now doing biopsies to see if it has spread to my lymph nodes.


Triple negative cancer does not respond to hormone therapy and is seen as an aggressive one with chances of relapse.  Because of that, the doctors lead with aggressive chemotherapy first to monitor the tumor and make sure it is responding to treatment.  After chemo I will then undergo a lumpectomy or mastectomy if the tumor is still there along with possible removal of lymph nodes.  We may or may not have to follow with radiation.