Support Traci’s Fight Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer!

In December of 2024, Traci moved her mother Deborah to Myrtle Beach, SC, and became her primary caregiver, due to a dementia diagnosis. After taking her mother to one of her doctor's visits for a mammogram, she began to feel what she thought might just be sympathy pains, but it turned out to be a whole lot more.

Traci kept noticing pain radiating down her right shoulder and arm. Deborah lived on the fourth floor so she thought it may be from bringing groceries up the stairs. When the pain became unbearable, she visited her primary care physician with a sore spot on her right breast.

The doctor ordered a mammogram and ultrasound, assuring Traci it was probably nothing, since “cancer doesn’t hurt,” and prescribed medication for pain. She had no idea how hard it was going to be to get a mammogram since it had been less than a year since her last one.

Her yearly wasn't due until the end of July—less than one year before everything had been all clear. So she had to wait to get an appointment. She was a site leader for Freedom Readers working on literacy for youth in the community, which took her mind off of her own and her family’s health concerns.

Both Deborah and Traci’s husband Greg were dealing with serious health issues that required caregiving, and Traci was the primary caregiver for both. At one point, Deborah was in one hospital and Greg was in another, leaving Traci shuttling between the two for several weeks.

In May, it was determined that Greg had suffered a stroke and his doctor suspected Multiple Sclerosis. He immediately began physical and occupational therapy. Traci was trying to keep things as normal as possible for her son John as he prepared to study abroad in Spain at the University of Seville for six weeks. He was finishing his sophomore year at Yale, and the stress was beginning to wear on him as well.

She continued to care for her mother and Greg and waited to see a doctor about the horrible pain in her arm and the lump in her right breast. In this short time the lump had grown to the size of an egg.

Traci finally had a mammogram and ultrasound on June 6. The radiologist said it didn’t look good and ordered two biopsies for the following week. On June 18, 2025, Traci was diagnosed with Grade 3 Triple Negative Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Stage 3 breast cancer.

Triple Negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive and difficult types of breast cancer to treat. It’s a fast-spreading and rare type of cancer. Less than 10–15% of breast cancers are considered triple negative.

Traci, always thinking of others, did not want John to be told while he was still abroad. He had already suffered from a medical emergency during the trip and she didn’t want him to worry about his mother, so she kept her diagnosis mostly to herself. She had to put her volunteer work with Freedom Readers on hold, which broke her heart.

Even though it was caught early, the fast-growing tumor had already been growing for too long. Although she wanted to wait and start chemotherapy after John returned home, the doctors insisted that they start as soon as possible.

Traci quietly began chemotherapy on July 10. It didn’t have to be kept a secret for long because John returned on the 15th. Unfortunately, this is just step one in a year-long treatment plan, with at least six months of chemotherapy, followed by surgery, and then radiation.

Her oncology team is located at MUSC in Charleston but Traci opted to receive chemotherapy in Mount Pleasant to be closer to her family, where she is still the primary caregiver for Deborah and Greg, which requires a great deal of travel each week.

This brings me to why I am asking for your help: cancer is a very expensive disease. Traci needs help with mounting co-pays, travel expenses, and medications. Even with insurance, the cost of cancer is astronomical.

If you are not in a position to give right now, please consider sharing this campaign because it may reach someone who can. Most importantly, if you know Traci, you know she wants your prayers. Thank you for reading and for your positive thoughts, donations, prayers, and love. Let’s help Traci as she continues to help her mother and husband by lessening the financial burden brought on by this horrible disease.