Valencia Robinson, Ed.S was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at 33 years old. She was busy enjoying life as a high school English teacher and a mother of a 3, 4, 5, and 8 year old. She continued teaching during chemotherapy and only took time off for her bilateral mastectomy.
As a board member of the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation, Valencia serves on various committees where she visits the state capitol in Tallahassee, advocating for legislation that would make life easier for cancer patients and for funds to continue research and treatment for patients. She has also advocated for similar legislation in Washington DC working along with the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
Valencia works with a myriad of organizations—like The National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute, and the Oncology Nursing Society—to help improve care for women who are diagnosed with breast cancer. She serves on the triple negative patient advisory board of the pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca where she advises the company on clinical study design and planning efforts in order to optimize patient experience. She also works with the Department of Defense, Congressional Directed Medical Research Programs—specifically the Breast Cancer Research Program, which challenges the scientific community to design research that will address the urgency of ending breast cancer.