ER Positive: 66 Real Stories
66 stories match ER positive. 62 of them mention surgery.
Stage IV HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Amy’s Patient Story
Amy had experienced back and hip pain since her early 30s. When it worsened in June 2022, she was told she was getting older. Four months later, she noticed an inverted nipple and immediately contacted her primary-care clinician. Mammography and ultrasound…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Janet’s Patient Story
Janet Ayala was 35 when she felt a breast lump while getting ready for a shower in summer 2024. After difficulty getting a diagnostic mammogram appointment, she finally had imaging in September and was told right away it was breast cancer. The diagnosis was…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Erica’s Survivor Story
Erica was 46 when a routine mammogram changed the course of her life. She had delayed screening in her early 40s because of procedural anxiety, but after encouragement from her doctor and a close friend, she began annual mammograms. Her 2022, 2023, and 2024…
Read this storyHER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Janella’s Survivor Story
Janella Bustamante was diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer in June 2021. Her cancer was described as fueled by estrogen, progesterone and the HER2 protein. She returned to Lima, Peru, for the first part of treatment and spent the following months…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Njathi’s breast cancer was found after her delayed 40th-birthday mammogram led to extra imaging in early 2023. At first, she thought the callback was routine for a first mammogram. When the repeat screening focused on one breast and the lymph nodes…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Courtney’s Patient Story
Courtney was 37 and pregnant with her 3rd child when she first found a lump in her left breast in February 2022. Ultrasound showed a 5 mm hypoechoic mass that was considered probably benign, and mammogram did not show it because of dense breast tissue. She…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: Sara’s Patient Story
Sara Glenn was 38 when she felt a peanut-sized breast lump during a self-exam in summer 2024, while her family was moving from North Carolina to Southern California. Mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy showed a 2 cm grade 1A-1B ER-positive, HER2-negative breast…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Tanya’s Patient Story
Tanya was 44 when she was diagnosed in 2016 with Stage IIIA invasive lobular carcinoma in her left breast. She had noticed a painful lump for about 1 year, but her first concern was dismissed because she had no family history and was told breast cancer was…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine was 31 when she noticed a visible divot and a large, hard, immovable lump in her breast. Imaging and biopsy confirmed stage 3 triple-positive breast cancer. MRI measured the tumor at nearly 8 cm and showed at least 2 involved lymph nodes, with 4…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Kelsey’s Patient Story
Kelsey was 27 when she felt a slightly tender breast lump in May 2023. Her primary care doctor initially thought it might be a cyst, but ultrasound and mammogram showed something more serious: Stage IIB estrogen-positive breast cancer. The diagnosis was…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: LaShae’s Patient Story
LaShae, a PhD student in cancer prevention research, first noticed a small movable breast lump but pushed it aside while trying to keep up with graduate school and powerlifting. By late 2023, the lump had grown and become painful, so she finally brought it up…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was 22 when a breast lump, initially treated as an infection, was confirmed as cancer. Further imaging found a small rib lesion that shrank with chemotherapy, showing that the disease had already spread and making the diagnosis stage 4. She received…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Mandy’s Patient Story
Mandy was 44 and raising 2 children when a routine mammogram in April 2024 led to more imaging. She had recently lost about 30 pounds, so she was not alarmed when she was called back for a diagnostic mammogram on May 28. After several rounds of images, the…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Katie’s Patient Story
Katie, a nurse in Cleveland, was 38 when she was diagnosed with Stage III invasive lobular carcinoma in March 2024. She had been referred to a high-risk breast clinic because her mother and 2 sisters had developed breast cancer, but her first mammogram and…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Karen’s Survivor Story
Karen moved from Seattle to Honolulu in July 2023 to lead an oncology service line. Two months later, at age 43, she found a breast lump despite having had a clear screening mammogram 9 months earlier. She had dense breast tissue and a family history of young…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Janelle’s Patient Story
Janelle was 41 and living near Baltimore when a routine mammogram in May 2024 showed increased calcifications in her right breast. She had known about a right-breast lump since age 17, when ultrasound called it a benign cyst, and she had started mammograms…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: Anna’s Survivor Story
Anna Rathkopf was 37 when she found a lump in her breast on her birthday. She was living in Brooklyn with her husband and their 2.5-year-old son, and they had just started thinking about a second child. A prior doctor had told her she did not need a mammogram…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: Anna’s Survivor Story
Anna found a breast lump on her 37th birthday. Her gynecologist initially did not consider it urgent, but Anna pushed for further testing. Because she had dense breast tissue, ultrasound was important in identifying the tumor, and a biopsy confirmed…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dee’s Patient Story
Dee was 31 and breastfeeding in 2017 when pain in her left breast was followed by a large lump. Her symptoms were initially minimized because of her age, but she kept pushing for answers and eventually had an ultrasound through a private hospital. She was…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Kelsey’s Patient Story
Kelsey Harrison was diagnosed with Stage II estrogen-positive breast cancer at age 27 after noticing a tender lump during a yoga session. Imaging showed a large tumor, about 5 cm, and abnormal lymph nodes. She had no known family history or genetic…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: LaShae’s Patient Story
LaShae was diagnosed with multicentric breast cancer while pursuing a PhD in cancer prevention research. She first felt a small movable lump in 2022 and pushed it aside, but by late 2023 it felt larger and painful. At a wellness visit in January 2024, she…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Liz’s Patient Story
Dr. Liz O'Riordan, a breast surgeon, was diagnosed at 40 in 2015 with Stage III mixed ductal and lobular breast cancer. Her cancer was not seen on mammogram; it was found on ultrasound and MRI. She received chemotherapy first, and her final MRI appeared…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Kim’s Survivor Story
Kim moved back to San Antonio in 2022 and had her first mammogram in the new city that October. The previous year’s 3D mammogram had been unremarkable, but this time the radiologist wanted a biopsy for a concerning spot in the left breast. Kim had also felt…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Allison’s Survivor Story
Allison Tierney is an oncology dietitian and breast cancer survivor who shared her experience with cold capping during treatment for Stage IA triple-positive breast cancer. The video focused less on diagnosis and more on how she managed chemotherapy-related…
Read this story