An Update From Tami! 🥳

June 29, 2026 

I turned 45 yesterday! 

To say the past 9 weeks have been a complete roller coaster would be a massive understatement. 

I cannot begin to tell you how incredibly humbling the last three weeks have been. Anyone who knows me knows I like being the person who plans, organizes, and does things for other people. I have never been good at asking for help, and I’m even worse at accepting it! But there is nothing like a breast cancer diagnosis to slam the brakes on your inner control freak and teach you that it is perfectly okay to let others carry the load. 

Barry and I always knew we had great people in our lives, but this experience has shown us that our village is next-level amazing. From the cards, texts, and emails, to the gift cards, meals, driving the kids around, flowers, and get-well packages, our village didn't just show up, you engulfed us in love and support. We have felt so deeply loved and cared for. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for showing up for us! 

Meredith has done an absolutely wonderful job keeping everyone updated, but now that I am finally feeling better, I wanted to jump on here and share a personal update, too. 

Surgery went well, and both of my surgeons were thrilled with the outcome! My pathology came back with clear margins and no lymph node involvement, which was already the best-case scenario. 

However, on June 18th, my surgeon called to tell me that my HER2 score was positive. The game plan suddenly shifted to 12 rounds of chemo, followed by a year of maintenance therapy, and 5–10 years of hormone blockers. As you can imagine, this was a total shock and a heavy blow to all of us. So many emotions and fears surfaced. Yesterday, as my family, friends, and I celebrated my 45th birthday, I was holding onto two very different truths: I was so incredibly thankful for those clear margins, but I was also really scared and saddened to face the chemo mountain. 

But today? Today was an absolutely fantastic day! 

I met with my oncologist, who is a super strong, fierce woman (needless to say, I like her very much!). As it turns out, my tumor was actually HER2 +2, which is essentially a gray area. They ran a secondary test called a FISH test on the tumor, and my score came back at 1.7. She explained that anything under 2 is officially considered negative! 

My Oncotype score isn’t back yet, which is the final piece of the puzzle for the official treatment plan, but for now, my oncologist is incredibly optimistic. With this new information, she feels I should NOT NEED CHEMO!!! 

I will still need to be closely monitored for the next ten years and will start on hormone blockers, but I am just so profoundly thankful for that FISH test. Honestly, who knew a fish could be a girl's best friend?! 

I have learned many lessons through this whirlwind, but the biggest is that there are no certainties, and this ride is truly full of wild ups and downs. For today, I am happily taking the absolute best birthday gift I could have ever asked for. I know there will still be twists and turns ahead, but today, my heart is just bursting with gratitude. 

Thank you all for riding this with us! 

Lots of love, 

 

Tami, Barry, Emma, Dominic, Amelia, Esther, and Mom Mom