Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: 453 Real Stories
453 stories match breast cancer and chemotherapy. 392 of them mention surgery.
Stage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Harvey’s Patient Story
Aileen tells the story of her husband Harvey, who was 59 when he was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast. Harvey first noticed a lump in summer 2022 but thought it was probably another lipoma. In early 2023, he hit the right side of his…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chance’s Survivor Story
Chance Osborne was 24 when she was diagnosed with Stage II triple-negative breast cancer, a diagnosis made more complicated by a family history of cancer and a BRCA1 mutation. Being young did not protect her from aggressive disease, and her story became a…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dorian’s Survivor Story
Dorian de Salvo was active, working out 5 to 6 times a week, when she began gaining weight without a clear reason. One doctor dismissed her concerns, but another ran blood work that suggested something could be wrong. While traveling for work, Dorian found a…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Loriana’s Survivor Story
Loriana was a high-profile news anchor in Austin, Texas, doing national fitness and medical stories when her own health changed. While trying to have a second baby, she dismissed warning signs and was misdiagnosed twice before using professional connections…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Sally’s Survivor Story
In 2013, Sally Johnston was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer after her primary care provider found a lump near her clavicle. A biopsy confirmed breast cancer involving lymph nodes. The cancer was estrogen receptor-positive. Sally began treatment with an…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Paula’s Patient Story
Paula found a strange lump in her right breast and was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She had no other symptoms. The diagnosis was shocking and left her confused, worried, surprised, and vulnerable, although her doctor’s guidance also gave her some…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Gail’s Patient Story
Gail, 65, is a mother of 2 from the United Kingdom who works in administration. In August 2024, she was diagnosed with Stage III luminal A breast cancer after feeling a lump in her breast that did not go away after a few weeks. She was surprised by the…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Susana’s Patient Story
Susana’s breast cancer was found after a mammogram was moved forward when she raised concerns about changes while breastfeeding her 2-year-old child. Imaging revealed a 4.5 cm breast mass and 3 affected lymph nodes, leading to a Stage III breast cancer…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chantal’s Survivor Story
Chantal was 24 and already knew she carried a BRCA1 mutation when she felt a sudden painful lump during a beach trip. Just 1 month earlier, her preventive MRI had looked normal. Because the lump was visible and clearly new, she sought testing quickly. Biopsy…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jessica’s Patient Story
Jessica had a clear baseline mammogram in 2019, although it showed dense breast tissue. In June 2023, a routine mammogram found a swollen lymph node in her armpit. Additional imaging also showed an area of distortion in the breast, beginning a series of…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Sherri’s Patient Story
Sherri was first diagnosed in November 2022 with aggressive Stage IV metastatic breast cancer after her blood counts dropped and doctors found a breast mass. The cancer had spread to her bone marrow, so she needed multiple transfusions before starting…
Read this storyStage IV Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Corky’s Patient Story
Corky Thacker was 64 when breast discoloration that first seemed like a heat rash eventually led to a Stage IV inflammatory breast cancer diagnosis. She was careful about annual mammograms, but inflammatory breast cancer can be hard to detect because it often…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Brenda’s Survivor Story
Brenda first found a breast lump in 2017, when she was in her early 40s. She was told it was a cyst, while an area of calcification seen on mammography was monitored every 6 months for the next 5 years. During a mammogram in May 2022, the area believed to be…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Olivia’s Survivor Story
Olivia Franz was 27 and breastfeeding her 4-month-old son when she noticed a painless lump in her left breast in mid-October 2020. An initial ultrasound suggested mastitis, but the lump and swelling grew during a week of antibiotics. A second ultrasound and…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Leigh’s Patient Story
Leigh was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma in 2011. She was shocked to learn that the cancer could be difficult to see on mammograms and biologically different from the more common ductal subtype, yet did not have a separate treatment approach. With…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: April’s Patient Story
April Donaldson was 40 when she found 4 lumps along the side of her left breast in January 2020, only months after a normal mammogram. Around the same time, she received genetic testing results showing she was BRCA1 positive. Biopsy confirmed triple-negative…
Read this storyStage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Kelly’s Survivor Story
Kelly Thomas was 33 when she felt a lump in her left breast. She had no breast cancer history in her family and had checked her breasts regularly, so the finding was frightening. Imaging and biopsy confirmed breast cancer, and her breast surgeon told her…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Susan’s Patient Story
Susan was 72 when she shared a long history with breast cancer. Her first diagnosis began in 2000, when her husband, a physician, felt a small hard lump in her left breast. A fine needle aspiration missed the cancer 3 times, but surgical removal showed the…
Read this storyHER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Susan’s Survivor Story
Susan was 72 when she shared a breast cancer history spanning more than 20 years. Her first diagnosis began when she was 50 and her husband, a physician, felt a hard pea-sized lump in her left breast. A fine needle aspiration incorrectly came back negative…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Brittney’s Patient Story
Brittney Beadle was 18 and still in high school when she found a lump in her right breast in February 2015. An ultrasound and mammogram showed a mass, but she was told that 18-year-olds did not get breast cancer. Three months later, the lump had grown and her…
Read this storyStage I Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Melissa’s Survivor Story
Melissa Berry was 42 when routine high-risk screening found Stage I triple-negative breast cancer. Breast cancer ran strongly on her mother’s side, and Melissa had learned she carried a BRCA mutation. Because of that, she was being followed closely with MRI…
Read this storyStage I Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Melissa’s Survivor Story
Melissa Berry learned she carried a BRCA gene alteration at age 32 after several women on her mother’s side of the family developed breast cancer. The result initially frightened her, but it also led to intensive screening with MRI, mammography and ultrasound…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan’s Survivor Story
Megan-Claire Chase was diagnosed with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer after symptoms such as green bruises, brittle hair, sudden weight gain, and a left-breast mass. Her doctors later believed the cancer may have been growing for 8 to 10 years and had…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan-Claire’s Survivor Story
Megan-Claire Chase was 39 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIA invasive lobular breast cancer. Years before diagnosis, she had a strong family history of cancer and was already watching her body closely. A preventive mammogram at 35 was read as clear, but…
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