Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: 738 Real Stories

738 stories match breast cancer and chemotherapy. 653 of them mention surgery.

Cancer Stories

Dwan, who was diagnosed with Stage II Invasive Ductal CarcinomaBreast Cancer

Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dwan's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Dwan Thomas, Female | Stage II

Biomarkers: HER2-negative; estrogen-positive

Dwan completed treatment for Stage II HER2-negative, estrogen-positive invasive ductal carcinoma in 2017 and later became active in MD Anderson advocacy and fundraising efforts.

MD Anderson
OutcomeSurvivorship / Completed Treatment
Cookie, who was diagnosed with Stage III Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Stage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Cookie's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Cookie Joe, female | Stage III

Biomarkers: triple-negative

More than 5 years after her April 2021 diagnosis, she remains cancer-free (since December 2022) and continues breast-cancer advocacy, fundraising, and blood-donation efforts.

MD Anderson
OutcomeCancer-Free / NED
Jennifer, who was diagnosed with Stage IV Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Stage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Jennifer's Patient Story

Patient Info: Jennifer Feinberg, Female, 40s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: HER2-positive

Metastatic Site: brain

8+ years after her initial breast cancer diagnosis, she was living with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer with brain metastases and receiving trastuzumab as her tenth line of treatment.

Dana-Farber
OutcomeLiving With Cancer
A patient, who was diagnosed with Stage III Invasive Ductal CarcinomaBreast Cancer

HER2-positive breast cancer complicated by severe anemia during chemotherapy

Patient Info: Anonymized, female, 40s | Stage III

Biomarkers: ER-negative; PR-negative; HER2-positive; germline BRCA1 likely pathogenic mutation

At 4.5-year follow-up, she remained free of breast-cancer recurrence and had no recurrence of the severe treatment-related anemia.

PubMed Central
OutcomeCancer-Free / NED
A patient, who was diagnosed with Breast Squamous Cell CarcinomaBreast Cancer

Complete response after chemotherapy for metaplastic breast cancer

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s

Biomarkers: ER-negative; weak PR-positive; HER2-negative

Surgery found no residual invasive or in situ breast cancer, and all 3 sentinel lymph nodes were negative, confirming a pathologic complete response.

PubMed Central
OutcomeCancer-Free / NED
Tiffany, who was diagnosed with Stage IV Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Stage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Tiffany's Patient Story

Patient Info: Tiffany Andrews, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: HER2-positive; ER-negative at recurrence

Metastatic Site: lungs|brain

Tiffany is living with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer and continues treatment through a clinical trial after progression in the lungs and brain.

MD Anderson
OutcomeCare Ongoing
Naomi, who was diagnosed with Stage II Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Stage II Breast Cancer: Naomi's Patient Story

Patient Info: Naomi Arbel-Brodd, Female | Stage II

Twenty years after her 2006 diagnosis, she had returned to UT MD Anderson as a weekly volunteer supporting other women receiving breast cancer care.

MD Anderson
OutcomeNot reported
A patient, who was diagnosed with Stage II Breast CancerBreast Cancer

HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Treatment Followed by Multiple Myeloma

Patient Info: Anonymized, female, 50s | Stage II

Biomarkers: ER-negative; PR-negative; HER2 3+; Ki-67 70%

Postoperative imaging showed no breast cancer recurrence or distant metastasis, and the breast cancer was described as stable when a separate multiple myeloma diagnosis was made.

PubMed Central
OutcomeCancer-Free / NED
A patient, who was diagnosed with Stage II Invasive Ductal CarcinomaBreast Cancer

Breast cancer treatment changed after severe colitis

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage II

Biomarkers: HER2-positive, ER-negative, PR-negative

In April 2025, follow-up evaluation showed no evidence of breast cancer recurrence.

PubMed Central
OutcomeCancer-Free / NED
Famke, who was diagnosed with Stage III Invasive Lobular CarcinomaBreast Cancer

Stage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Famke's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Famke, Female, Under 40 | Stage III

Famke received surgery, chemotherapy and radiation and celebrated 5 years since diagnosis while continuing long-term hormone therapy.

Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance
OutcomeCare Ongoing / Survivorship
A patient, who was diagnosed with Stage IV Small Cell Lung CancerBreast Cancer

Rare Breast Neuroendocrine Cancer That Recurred in the Liver

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 70+ | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Chromogranin-positive; synaptophysin-positive; GATA-3-positive; ER-positive; PR negative on repeat biopsy and 40% positive on the mastectomy specimen; HER2-negative; Ki-67 85–95%

Metastatic Site: Liver; abdominal lymph nodes

After temporary responses to surgery and repeated chemotherapy, the cancer returned repeatedly in the liver and had spread to abdominal lymph nodes by May 2025. A new chemotherapy regimen was planned.

PubMed Central
OutcomeSetback / Progression
Lucy, who was diagnosed with Stage II Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Stage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Lucy, Female, Under 40 | Stage II

Biomarkers: Germline BRCA1 mutation; triple-negative breast cancer

Surgical pathology was all clear on June 17 after a strong chemotherapy response. Lucy described herself as cancer-free and continued oncology reviews every 3–4 months while planning delayed reconstruction.

The Patient Story
OutcomeCancer-Free / NED, Surveillance
Melissa, who was diagnosed with Stage II Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Stage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Melissa's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Melissa, Female | Stage II

Biomarkers: Triple-negative breast cancer; BRCA testing negative; NBN gene mutation identified on later testing

Melissa completed pregnancy-adapted cancer treatment, later underwent risk-reducing surgery and reconstruction, and was raising both daughters.

The Patient Story
OutcomeTreatment Completed / Survivorship
Alison, who was diagnosed with Stage IV Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Stage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Alison's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Alison, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ER-positive; PR-positive; HER2-positive

Metastatic Site: Cervical/neck lymph nodes

Alison reported complete remission since August 2017 while continuing intermittent maintenance chemotherapy, most recently 1 month of treatment followed by 2 months off.

The Patient Story
OutcomeLiving With Cancer / Remission
Stefanie, who was diagnosed with Stage III Invasive Ductal CarcinomaBreast Cancer

Stage III HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Stefanie's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Stefanie, Female | Stage III

Biomarkers: ER-positive, PR-positive and HER2-positive

Stefanie completed chemotherapy, breast-conserving surgery, prolonged Herceptin and 30 radiation treatments, then moved into survivorship while still adjusting to the lasting effects of treatment.

The Patient Story
OutcomeTreatment Completed / Survivorship
Shari, who was diagnosed with Stage IV Invasive Ductal CarcinomaBreast Cancer

Stage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Shari's Patient Story

Patient Info: Shari S., Female | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ER-positive, PR-positive and HER2-positive; no inherited cancer mutation was identified

Metastatic Site: Brain; other initial metastatic sites were not named

Systemic imaging after chemotherapy showed no active disease, but brain metastases later required stereotactic radiation. Shari remained stage 4, continued Herceptin every 3 weeks and underwent brain MRI every 3–4 months.

The Patient Story
OutcomeLiving With Cancer / Ongoing Therapy
Renée, who was diagnosed with Stage II Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Stage II Breast Cancer: Renée's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Renée, Female, Under 40 | Stage II

Renée described her health as stable and her treatment as working. She remained on a long-term hormone-based anti-cancer regimen and was still healing from reconstruction complications rather than describing herself as cancer-free.

The Patient Story
OutcomeCare Ongoing / Survivorship
A patient, who was diagnosed with Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Breast cancer treatment in a woman with mirror-image organ anatomy

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female

Biomarkers: ER-positive; HER2-negative

A woman in her early 60s with mirror-image organ anatomy received chemotherapy and mastectomy for left breast cancer after a specially planned venous port placement.

PubMed Central
OutcomeNot reported
Rhonda, who was diagnosed with Stage III Inflammatory Breast CancerBreast Cancer

Stage III Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Rhonda's Patient Story

Patient Info: Rhonda Holbert, Female | Stage III

Rhonda survived inflammatory breast cancer and later lived with significant long-term health effects while continuing to support and advocate for other people with cancer.

AACR
OutcomeNot reported
Shelby, who was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal CarcinomaBreast Cancer

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Shelby's Patient Story

Patient Info: Shelby, Female, Under 40

As of June 2026, Shelby had undergone double mastectomy and AC chemotherapy during pregnancy as a surrogate and delivered a healthy baby; long-term cancer status was not clearly stated.

The Patient Story
OutcomeCare Ongoing