In 2024, Valerie Watkins skipped her mammogram. She had recently relocated to Southern Maryland, and her routine screening was on hold until she found a new healthcare provider. During her first appointment with her new gynecologist, she was advised to resume her annual mammograms. When the results from her February scan revealed an area of concern, she turned to Kelly Fritz, MD, MedStar Health breast surgeon, for expert advice.
“One biopsy turned into another biopsy and then an MRI,” said Valerie. “The first two came back negative, so we were like, ‘Ok, cool.’ They thought it was calcifications, so I wasn’t really worried at first.”
Diagnostic radiologist Nirali Shah, MD, noticed additional calcifications on Valerie’s mammogram and recommended she have stereotactic biopsies.
“I had a stereotactic biopsy, and it turned out that, too, was cancer,” said Valerie. “Thankfully, this was in my left breast, and nothing was found in my right breast, so I had a unilateral mastectomy in June. Right out of the gate, Dr. Fritz was so comforting and reassured me that it was very small,” said Valerie. “I was extremely frightened. You think this is a death sentence, but breast cancer treatment has come so far, and technology is so excellent these days.”
Valerie’s surgery at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital was two parts: the mastectomy by Dr. Fritz, immediately followed by a latissimus dorsi reconstruction by Samer Jabbour, MD, plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
“We are fortunate to have an excellent team here, offering our breast cancer patients immediate reconstruction close to home,” said Dr. Fritz.
Valerie said she wasn’t really considering reconstructive surgery but decided to explore the option and meet Dr. Jabbour.
“After meeting with him, it was very clear this was probably a very good option to take, and he is so comforting and wonderful,” she said.
The latissimus dorsi reconstruction involves removing a portion of the latissimus dorsi muscle from the patient’s back, along with some skin and fat, to create a new breast. Dr. Jabbour also took fat from Valerie’s thighs to help shape her left breast and performed a reduction of her right breast. She will undergo an additional procedure to enhance her left breast to match the size of her right breast, which she plans to have in January 2026. She hopes that she will be fully recovered by February, exactly one year from the mammogram that discovered her cancer.
Valerie describes her recovery from the first procedure as good, saying the mastectomy itself wasn’t difficult, but the reconstructive surgery required extra procedures.
“I was able to get out of the hospital the next day, and I couldn’t wait to just get home and recover from there,” she said. “I think the hardest thing for me is I started to feel better about a month out, and I was ready to lift my arms and do all the things.”
“Recovery is not as difficult as most would expect,” said Dr. Fritz. “Most patients are back to usual activity within a month or two and generally only require over-the-counter pain relievers.”
Because her cancer was estrogen-fueled and had not spread to her lymph nodes, she will not have to undergo radiation or chemotherapy. She has begun taking medication to keep the cancer from returning. Overall, she said she is fascinated by what surgeons can accomplish and grateful she was able to have her surgery close to home in Leonardtown.
“I find it to be just so lovely that Dr. Fritz is literally a 10- to 15-minute drive for me,” she said, “and then the hospital, too. I felt like I was in excellent hands. To stumble upon this amazing, beautiful, knowledgeable, compassionate woman, I can’t say enough good things about her.”
Valerie’s cancer was discovered early, which is an essential factor for beating breast cancer, according to Dr. Fritz, who assures patients that mammograms are safe, quick, and easy, and involve minimal radiation—less than a person would be exposed to flying from coast to coast.
“Having a regular, yearly screening mammogram allows the radiologist to identify subtle changes that can lead to the discovery of cancer at its earliest stage, with the best prognosis,” said Dr. Fritz. “If breast cancer is found just within the breast, the five-year survival rate is excellent—99 %. Once it spreads to the axillary lymph nodes, the rate drops to 87%. If it has spread to distant parts of the body, it drops to 32%. As one in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lives, you want to discover it as early as possible.”