Michelle was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in December of 2018 at 45 years old. Even after having three negative mammograms, she thought something was still wrong and brought it to her doctor’s attention. It turned out to be a grade 3 tumor. Michelle is the ultimate advocate for listening to your body and speaking up when you think something isn’t right.

As a Research Advocate, Michelle provides valuable patient-centered feedback to VICC researchers about breast cancer research project proposals, represents VICC as a Patient Advocate on the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC), and serves as a Research Advocate for the Breast SPORE and the Southern Environmental Health Study (SEHS), a research project led by Vanderbilt that is aimed at assessing the impact of environmental exposures on cancer risk for people living in Southern states. Nationally, Michelle serves as a Consumer Reviewer for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (DoD BCRP).

After undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, Michelle has been cancer free since 2021.