Tori Watson

Tori was only 43 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Here is her story:

If you know Tori, you know she’s a go-getter. 

She’s been deemed by the Knox Soccer Podcast as a local legend for her tenured soccer career and involvement in the sport. Tori played at Bearden High School before accepting a scholarship to play at the University of Tennessee under Coach Ange Kelly as a Lady Vol Soccer player. She went on to coach collegiately at Limestone College, Division II school in Gaffney, SC, before settling back to her roots in Knoxville, TN. Tori has spent that last two decades helping to progressively grow the sport in the greater Knoxville area, and in January of 2022, Tori was recognized by the Tennessee State Soccer Association for Volunteer of the Year.

Tori continues to promote the sport through her youth connections and media relations work where she serves as the color commentator for Tennessee Lady Vols Soccer team on the ESPN+ network.

Her story began in 2015 following a friend’s unexpected diagnosis with breast cancer. Tori was only 35 at the time and had no family history of cancer whatsoever; however, she electively chose to get a baseline mammogram, 5 years before traditionally recommended. From that mammogram, Tori learned that like many women, she had dense breast tissue.

*Dense tissue is not something that can be felt during a self-breast exam or by a doctor during a clinical breast exam –it can only be discovered by a radiologist looking at a mammogram.

Dense breast tissue can often make mammograms more difficult to interpret and complicate the process for detecting early-stage breast cancer. As an added protective layer, Tori’s gynecologist recommended that her annual screenings include a diagnostic mammogram AND ultrasound images of both breasts–a best practice that would in turn help save her life.

On August 18, 2022, at 43 years old, Tori went for her regularly scheduled annual exam and upon the initial reading—her results looked clear. However, because of her previous dense tissue diagnosis, Tori knew to have her doctor request an ultrasound at the time of her mammogram. Shockingly it was during this screening that the ultrasound technician found a 0.7mm mass.  Upon biopsy, Tori learned she had an extremely aggressive type of breast cancer, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma –more specifically, Triple Positive (ER+, PR+, HER2+).  Three weeks following her initial diagnosis, an MRI revealed that the mass had nearly doubled in size, measuring 1.2cm.

Tori’s medical team wasted no time and immediately prescribed 6 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy, which placed her into a chemical menopause. In February 2022, following the completion of chemotherapy, Tori had a double mastectomy, and a sentinel node biopsy performed in which (3) lymph nodes were removed. Thankfully, Tori had a pathological complete response (PCR) and currently shows no evidence of disease. Her treatments these days include continued targeted IV treatments every 21 days through the end of September 2023 –when she will hopefully be able to “ring the bell.”

As lucky as Tori feels to have caught her cancer early, she is driven to motivate other young women to complete their screenings on time, pay attention to their bodies and their health, and advocate for their medical needs.

“These last few months have been some of the most challenging and yet oddly rewarding months of my life. It’s important to me to women understand that over 80% of those who receive a breast cancer diagnosis are those who have NO FAMILY HISTORY. I am a walking testament to this statistic. None of my family members including great grandparents and beyond have ever had a cancer diagnosis–all of my genetic testing came back clear, and yet, I was diagnosed with a deadly form of cancer. If there is one take away, it’s that I hope women schedule their mammograms annually—ask questions, learn if they have dense tissue and if they do, demand that your doctor prescribe an ultrasound or MRI as an added protective layer –who knows, it might just save your life like it did mine.” –Tori Watson