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: Tiffany’s Patient Story
Tiffany Andrews was 35 when a lump in her right breast led to a diagnosis of Stage II breast cancer. Testing showed HER2-positive disease. She began treatment with 6 rounds of chemotherapy combined with HER2-targeted therapy, then underwent a mastectomy…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Betsy’s Patient Story
Betsy’s breast cancer experience began with dense breast tissue and small calcifications seen on mammography. After repeated surveillance, a large left-breast lump became noticeable in 2016, but two rounds of mammography and ultrasound did not show a clear…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Naomi’s Patient Story
In May 2006, an unnamed patient was 26 weeks pregnant with her younger son when she was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer. The diagnosis brought immediate fears about both her own survival and her baby, but a treatment plan helped reduce some of the…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Famke’s Survivor Story
Famke was 39 when she noticed that an area in her right breast felt firmer and had a defined edge. It was not a distinct lump, and she nearly dismissed the accompanying pain after reading that breast pain usually was not a cancer symptom. Her gynecologist…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy’s Survivor Story
Lucy found a breast lump at 23, months after learning that she carried a germline BRCA1 mutation. Several clinicians thought the area felt like fibrous tissue, but because of her inherited risk she continued with imaging and biopsy. Three days after her 24th…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Melissa’s Survivor Story
Melissa found a growing, painless lump in her left breast while breastfeeding her 1-year-old daughter. Testing confirmed stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer, and she soon learned that she was pregnant with her second child. She was in her late 20s and had…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Alison’s Survivor Story
Alison was 34 and breastfeeding when she found a lump under her right arm. Biopsies confirmed triple-positive breast cancer in the breast and axillary lymph nodes. After HER2 testing returned equivocal 3 times, the final result guided a TCHP regimen…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Stefanie’s Survivor Story
Stefanie first noticed a breast lump when she was 5 months pregnant and assumed it was a clogged milk duct. The night she delivered her second child by scheduled C-section, a postpartum nurse raised concern about the lump. An ultrasound was inconclusive, so a…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Shari’s Patient Story
Shari found a breast lump in December 2015. A mammogram several months later led to a surgical lumpectomy because she had saline implants. The lump was breast cancer, and further staging showed that the triple-positive disease was already metastatic, making…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Renée’s Survivor Story
Renée had already survived acute myeloid leukemia and a bone marrow transplant when she noticed a change in the shape of her left breast at age 35. A dimple appeared, her nipple flattened, and urgent imaging and biopsies found stage 2 breast cancer involving…
Read this storyStage III Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Rhonda’s Patient Story
In September 2001, Pastor Rhonda Holbert went to a routine medical appointment and underwent a needle biopsy. She was then told she had Stage III inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. She was alone when she received the…
Read this storyInvasive Ductal Carcinoma: Shelby’s Patient Story
Shelby was 34 and 15 weeks pregnant as a first-time surrogate when she felt a sudden lump in her armpit. At first, she thought it might be related to IVF hormones or pregnancy changes. An ultrasound and biopsy instead showed invasive ductal carcinoma, forcing…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Betty’s Patient Story
Betty Jean had survived breast cancer in 2019, but a later episode of back pain changed the course of her life again. While on vacation, she developed pain that seemed like a bad back problem. Imaging instead revealed Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, with…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Kim’s Survivor Story
Kim Rumpf's triple-negative breast cancer story moved her from nurse and military veteran into the role of patient. Her diagnosis brought both medical urgency and deeply personal decisions, especially around fertility and family planning. Treatment included…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Andrea’s Survivor Story
Andrea was pregnant and around 30 weeks along when she mentioned a divot in her breast at an OB-GYN visit. A same-day breast center evaluation led to biopsy of both the breast and lymph nodes, and she soon learned she had breast cancer. Her story describes…
Read this storyStage III HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Genoa’s Survivor Story
Genoa was living the life she wanted when a subtle but persistent feeling of nausea made her think something was wrong. She was already due for a mammogram, and her OB-GYN also ordered a breast MRI because of her family history of breast cancer. The MRI…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Janice’s Patient Story
Janice Cowden was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. Nearly 5 years later, she developed metastatic breast cancer and was told she had Stage IV disease. She was 33 when the diagnosis shattered her sense of the future. Biopsy was needed to confirm…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Amelia’s Patient Story
Amelia was 40 when Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma was diagnosed. Her cancer was ER-positive, PR-positive, and HER2-negative. She first had an outpatient lumpectomy, but soon learned more surgery would be needed. Because she had a history of breast growths…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Cat’s Survivor Story
Cat was diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer after feeling a lump in her left breast. An ultrasound raised immediate concern, and biopsy confirmed cancer. She was diagnosed at the end of June and chose to wait until after a family trip and school…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Erin’s Patient Story
Erin first noticed an ache near her left breast and armpit, then later saw dimpling in the skin. A mammogram was clear, but she pointed the ultrasound team to the exact area, and a biopsy led to breast cancer care. Surgery found that what had looked like a 9…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Renee’s Patient Story
Renee first found a hard, painful breast area after playing with her children. Her family doctor quickly suspected breast cancer, and testing showed Stage III disease. The first plan was chemotherapy before surgery, with the hope that she might be able to…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Rachel’s Patient Story
Rachel’s Stage IB breast cancer was found after she delayed a routine mammogram for about 6 months. She had no symptoms, but 3D mammography showed a suspicious spot in the right breast. Ultrasound confirmed the finding, and biopsy showed infiltrating ductal…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret’s Stage II breast cancer involved both invasive ductal carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ. She first noticed left-breast pain and an inverted nipple. Mammogram and biopsy led to diagnosis, followed by rapid decisions about surgery, scans…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Bethany’s Patient Story
Bethany was 33 when a breast lump she had watched for months became impossible to dismiss. Earlier breast lumps in her 20s had turned out to be cysts or swollen lymph nodes, and she had dense breast tissue, so she first assumed this one was benign too. The…
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