A letter from Trisha's loving husband, Bart Vale

Jun 06, 2026

Hello friends and family,
It’s with a sad, but hopeful heart that I have to make this post. A couple of weeks ago, Trish went in for a mammogram because she’s had a lump in her breast for a few months that seemed a bit off. She’s always had cystic pockets, so we never really thought the lump was anything more than that. After running biopsies on two samples, they found that the lump was a large, cancerous tumor that spread to two lymph nodes in her armpit. They also discovered that the cancer is extremely aggressive, and resistant to many treatments that are available to cure it. It’s called Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC).
Yesterday, Trish went in for a PET scan and an MRI to get more answers. A PET scan uses radioactive dye to highlight any cancerous areas throughout the body. From the scan, they discovered the cancer has spread to Trish’s lungs, liver, and sternum. Because of the size of the tumor and the considerable spread, it puts her in Stage IV cancer territory. We are still meeting with the oncologist on Monday to discuss our treatment options, but the outlook isn’t super promising, and our best hope is probably fighting for remission.
Although we know the odds are against us, we also know Trish’s heart. It is pure, good, kind, and strong, fortified for the fire that’s coming. We are deeply aware of how loved she is, and what a tremendous support you all have been throughout our lives. At this time, we ask you to join us in sending her your love, prayers, thoughts, and unwavering positive energy.
If you feel the need to reach out, please do so via messaging. This is all quite heavy for our whole family right now, but time is healing the initial pain and we will eventually accept the battle we are facing as the new norm. Thank you all so much for your support.

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