“I remember wondering why she took so long to decide but I ended up doing the same thing,” says Michelle. “Maybe she was on to something!”

Michelle is now a Nurse Practitioner in an ambulatory clinic at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital that treats women with a high lifetime risk for breast cancer and anyone with a history of a cancer. For those at high risk for breast cancer, Michelle works with them to come up with a plan that will keep them safe and put their mind at ease.

Her team uses the guidelines established by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network to mitigate risk and genetic assessments and testing, and develops nutrition and exercise programs to help promote patients’ whole health.

And for Michelle, that’s what it all comes down to—her patients.

“Our patients are so kind to us that it makes it incredibly rewarding to be able to support and help them. I hope to stay with Sentara until I retire because the culture and camaraderie between my team and my patients is unlike anything I’ve experienced in my career,” Michelle adds.

Before Michelle turned back to nursing in 2008, she and her husband, Paul, crisscrossed the country with their three kids during his 30-year Navy career. One of her most memorable moments living abroad was meeting Pope John Paul II in Italy when she was pregnant with her first child.