Betsy Watson
Betsy brings nearly 30 years of experience as a dedicated social worker and is a proud breast cancer survivor. She began her career after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in social work from the College of St. Catherine (now the University of St. Catherine) in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1997. She initially worked in the healthcare field before earning her Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of St. Thomas in 2001. Following graduate school, Betsy began working for Hennepin County in Minneapolis as a case-carrying social worker in child welfare, marking the start of her long and impactful career in public service.
Having faced the challenges of navigating her own cancer journey with limited support due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she understands firsthand the vital role a strong support system plays. Betsy also experienced the deep struggle of not having support while her father battled cancer and ultimately passed away. This has fueled her passion to help patients, survivors, and their families build a network of care and connection. She believes that everyone deserves the support they need to face this journey with strength and resilience.
Betsy's Story: In Her Own Words
One of my greatest internal fears when I moved to California in the fall of 2005 was, "What happens if I ever have a health crisis and my family isn’t around?"
Fast forward to the first weekend of 2020. I was housesitting for friends, getting ready to head to the gym, and glanced in the bathroom mirror without a shirt on. What I saw stopped me in my tracks—my left breast was red and swollen. It didn’t hurt, but I knew something was wrong.
That Monday, I made an appointment with the nurse practitioner I had seen for years. A few days later, I got a call asking me to come into the office right away. I knew it wasn’t going to be good news. I called my friend Julia and asked if she could go with me. At the appointment, I heard the words no one ever wants to hear: “You have breast cancer.”
I still have my calendars from 2020, and I often look back at what a whirlwind that time was. The world was in chaos due to COVID, and I was navigating my own personal storm. I was diagnosed with Stage 3, triple-positive, HER2-positive inflammatory breast cancer in my left breast, which had also spread to the lymph nodes in my left armpit. I was terrified.
But from the moment I understood what was happening, I told every doctor I met: “What are we going to do, because I am not going anywhere.”
Before cancer, I was an Ironman triathlete—and I didn’t realize just how much that mindset would carry me through. Within a month of diagnosis and meeting with my oncologist, I began six months of chemotherapy. Thankfully, it did its job. That was followed by a double mastectomy with lymph node removal, seven weeks of radiation, and a year on a drug called Nerlynx to help prevent brain metastases. I was grateful for the treatment, but I’ve never been so sick in my life.
Around that same time, I also began taking Anastrozole, which I’m still on today—now four years in. The side effects are no joke.
Over the course of my treatment, I had seven surgeries—six of them for reconstruction. My hope was to transition from expanders to implants and regain some semblance of a breast form. But that wasn’t to be part of my journey. In 2023, after a serious infection in my right side (diagnosed as cellulitis), I made the difficult decision to stop reconstruction and move to a flat aesthetic closure. It was the right decision—but a hard one.
I needed to get on with my life.
And I have. I'm active again, and truly living.
My biggest takeaway?
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Family shows up in many forms. It isn’t just those you’re related to.