Fertility Preservation for Breast Cancer: 22 Real Stories
22 stories match breast cancer and fertility preservation. 21 of them mention surgery.
BRCA1 Breast Cancer: Alina’s Survivor Story
Alina Schiller was 30 when she shared life after early-stage breast cancer. She found a lump while changing clothes and went to a gynecologist, who referred her to a breast center. Biopsy confirmed breast cancer in 2018, and BRCA1 testing found a mutation at…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Eva’s Patient Story
Eva Manz was 39 and living with her partner when she looked back on 2 breast cancer diagnoses. She was first diagnosed at 31. At that time, her left breast was removed and reconstructed at the same operation. The loss of the breast affected her deeply, even…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Roxanne’s Survivor Story
Roxanne, from Anchorage, Alaska, was 36 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIB grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma in April 2024. The first clue came the previous summer, when her boyfriend noticed a bump in the right breast. She saw her primary care doctor in…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Rosanna’s Survivor Story
Rosanna Silber was 31, finishing a doctorate in nursing and planning her wedding, when she noticed a pea-sized lump in her left breast. A local doctor thought it was likely a benign cyst, but Rosanna knew her body and pushed for more testing after returning…
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 HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Rach’s Patient Story
Rach D. was 27 when she noticed a change in her right breast during her honeymoon. At first, she was unsure whether the lump had always been there. A January physical exam became the turning point: her doctor felt 3 masses and sent her for ultrasound. The…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA Breast Cancer: Maralee’s Survivor Story
Maralee Lellio was 28 when she noticed a breast lump in 2018. A first evaluation called it a benign fibroadenoma, but the lump grew and became painful. Further mammogram and biopsy showed Stage II breast cancer. Before treatment, Maralee and her husband froze…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Marina’s Survivor Story
Marina is a Stage II breast cancer survivor who has gone through chemotherapy twice and now shares what helped her feel more prepared. Her chemotherapy included A&C followed by Taxol, and she learned that hair loss could begin around 14 to 20 days into each…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Marina’s Survivor Story
Marina was 31 and had just qualified for the Boston Marathon when she noticed a daily ache in her breast. Her mother had survived breast cancer twice and was known to carry a BRCA1 mutation, so Marina already understood that breast cancer could run in her…
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 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 storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Marissa’s Survivor Story
Marissa Sweitzer’s breast cancer was found just after she gave birth to her daughter, Melody, in February 2024. Late in pregnancy, she had noticed a breast lump while applying lotion. Because breast changes are common during pregnancy, her doctor arranged for…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Juliette’s Survivor Story
Juliette Landgrave was 38, healthy and years away from routine mammography when she felt a breast lump in the shower. Imaging found two tumors: the one she could feel and another deeper tumor seen only on MRI. She was diagnosed with triple-negative breast…
Read this storyStage 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 III HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Sarah’s Survivor Story
Sarah McDonald was 44 when she was diagnosed with 2 unrelated cancers within 2 months. Surgery for a rare salivary gland cancer prompted her to re-examine a breast lump first noticed 6 years earlier. Annual mammograms had not shown a clear problem because she…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy’s Survivor Story
Lucy E. was diagnosed with grade 3 triple-negative breast cancer 3 days after her 24th birthday. She had found a breast lump and pushed for biopsy even after being told it was likely fibrous tissue. She already knew she carried a BRCA1 mutation, which made…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy’s Patient Story
Lucy was diagnosed with breast cancer 3 days after her 24th birthday. Her risk was already personal: her mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer twice and, after the second diagnosis, learned she carried a BRCA1 mutation. Lucy then had genetic testing…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Katie’s Survivor Story
Katie Robb Sewall was 27 when a double mastectomy in 2014 changed what she thought was stage 0 breast cancer into a Stage III diagnosis. Pathology showed the cancer had spread from the breast ducts into lymph nodes. Katie and her husband, Craig, had to move…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Caitlin’s Patient Story
Caitlin J. was 29 when she found a lump in her breast and had to push for evaluation while uninsured. Planned Parenthood referred her for imaging, and a mammogram showed a mass. Biopsy results came back within 3 days and confirmed Stage IIB ER-positive…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Alexandria’s Patient Story
Alexandria was 27 when she felt a hard breast lump in the shower. The ultrasound happened the day after her birthday, and the biopsy found abnormal cells that led to a breast cancer diagnosis. She waited to tell her parents until the diagnosis was clearer…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Brittney’s Survivor Story
Brittney Rinella was 26 and planning her wedding when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After discussing options with Cleveland Clinic oncologist Dr. Halle Moore and the rest of her care team, Brittney chose a double mastectomy followed by chemotherapy…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Heather’s Survivor Story
Heather Kokinda was diagnosed with breast cancer at 29 while breastfeeding her 5-month-old daughter. She first noticed a lump in the shower and thought it might be a clogged milk duct, but it did not go away despite the usual measures. After the cancer…
Read this story