Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: 453 Real Stories
453 stories match breast cancer and chemotherapy. 392 of them mention surgery.
Stage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Nina’s Survivor Story
Nina was 34 when she was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Her first sign was a hard strip under her left armpit, not the small pea-like lump she had been told to watch for. At first, she was reassured because she was young, had dense breast…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren found a lump in her right breast during a self-exam and quickly contacted her doctor. She was referred to radiology for an ultrasound and biopsy, which led to a diagnosis of invasive ductal breast cancer. Her cancer was Stage II. At first, a sentinel…
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 II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Italia’s Survivor Story
Italia Russell was 30 when she found a breast lump in August 2023, 1 month after learning she carried a BRCA mutation that increased her lifetime breast cancer risk. Her mother had been treated 15 years earlier for Stage II triple-negative breast cancer and…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Francina’s Survivor Story
Francina had no breast cancer symptoms when her routine mammogram the day after Christmas found something suspicious. A few days later, her doctor called her back for another mammogram and an ultrasound because a mass had been seen. The ultrasound confirmed…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Erica’s Survivor Story
Erica Watson was 51 when pain and a breast lump led to a diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer. She had stayed current with mammograms and had breast cancer in her family, so the diagnosis still came as a shock. A formal stage was not shared, but her…
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 storyBreast Cancer: Cécilia’s Patient Story
Cécilia had been followed for benign mastosis since 2018, but during pregnancy she noticed changes that felt different. Her breast became less mobile and more rigid, the skin darkened and looked like orange peel, and the nipple retracted. A general…
Read this storyInvasive Ductal Carcinoma: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren O’Connell, a beauty editor and mother of 2 living in Dubai, found her breast cancer during a self-exam in December 2023. She felt a large lump in the 12 o’clock area of her right breast and quickly had imaging and a biopsy. The diagnosis was invasive…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dee’s Patient Story
Dee Doherty was first diagnosed at age 31 with Stage III invasive ductal carcinoma and extensive DCIS in her left breast. Her early signs included trouble producing milk on the left side while breastfeeding, then breast pain and a growing lumpy area. Because…
Read this storyStage IV KRAS Breast Cancer: Lauren’s Patient Story
Lauren, from Houston, first found a breast lump in 2014 after breastfeeding her second child. It was initially dismissed as a fibroadenoma, but 2 years later she developed breast pain and noticed that her left nipple looked unusual. She was diagnosed with…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Kristie’s Survivor Story
Kristie had worked in healthcare quality improvement and had always emphasized early screening. In June 2021, during a routine physical, she scheduled her annual mammogram for the next day. She expected another uneventful result, but a few days later she was…
Read this storyInflammatory Breast Cancer: Shirley’s Patient Story
Shirley Joseph was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in January 2024 after breast discomfort and swelling persisted despite antibiotics. The diagnosis arrived just as she and her partner, Mike, were preparing to open a salon, bringing work and music…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer at 22 in March 2019 after pain in her left breast led her to feel a lump. Initial reassurance and antibiotics did not help. A biopsy confirmed breast cancer, and her surgeon also biopsied a suspicious lymph…
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 storyStage III Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Katrece’s Patient Story
Katrece Nolen was diagnosed with Stage III inflammatory breast cancer in February 2013. Her first sign was that one breast looked slightly larger than the other. A doctor found swelling and warmth but no lump and initially treated her for possible mastitis. A…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Melissa’s Patient Story
Melissa Adams noticed a persistent abnormal area in her right breast in 2017 while finishing a graduate degree in planetary geology. Ultrasound, mammography, and biopsy led to a diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma. Because the tumor was large, she…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Samantha’s Survivor Story
Samantha Salway was 34 and 14 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in January 2023. She already had 2 young children and had recently completed a 10K and a half marathon. The first questions she and her husband asked were…
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 storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Catherine’s Survivor Story
Catherine was 45 when she shared her experience of living after metastatic breast cancer. She first had breast cancer in 2016. In 2019, she had a recurrence with a tumor located near the cerebellum, placing her story in the metastatic breast cancer setting…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Allison’s Patient Story
Allison Tierney, an oncology dietitian in Wisconsin, found a breast lump shortly after finishing breastfeeding her 2nd child. Because she was only 10 days postpartum from nursing, the lump could have been a clogged duct, but it continued to worry her. Imaging…
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