HER2 Positive Breast Cancer: 60 Real Stories
60 stories match breast cancer and HER2 positive. 57 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage I HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Tammy’s Patient Story
Tammy was first diagnosed with Stage 0 DCIS, or ductal carcinoma in situ. After surgery, her pathology report found a second tumor: Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma. She had already undergone a double mastectomy and was waiting for one final test result when…
Read this storyHER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Joy’s Survivor Story
Joy Albi was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer after a routine mammogram in November 2019 showed a small abnormal area. A biopsy confirmed cancer, and she underwent a lumpectomy in Cincinnati. When Joy later traveled to Boston to discuss joining a…
Read this storyStage I HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Betty’s Survivor Story
Betty, 59, sought medical attention after noticing white spots around her nipple. Testing showed Stage I breast cancer. The diagnosis was frightening and made her worry about dying too young, especially because cancer had affected other members of her family…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Faith’s Survivor Story
Faith, 37, was pregnant in mid-2021 when she told her obstetrician about lumps in her breasts. There was no unusual discharge or pain, but ultrasound and biopsy confirmed Stage II ER-positive, HER2-positive breast cancer. The diagnosis brought fear, sadness…
Read this storyStage II HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Kelsey’s Survivor Story
Kelsey was 45 when she noticed a lump in her left breast. Her family doctor referred her to the hospital for a mammogram, and she was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2021. Her record included HER2-positive disease, and trastuzumab was named because…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine Hodgdon was 34, active, and training for a triathlon when she was diagnosed with aggressive metastatic breast cancer. The cancer was HER2-positive. She had no family history of breast cancer and described the diagnosis as a complete shock. Her…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Kate’s Survivor Story
Kate Watson was 35, with 2 young daughters, when she learned she had Stage IV HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. The cancer had already spread beyond the breast to lymph nodes in her chest and to spots in her spine, pelvis and one femur. The diagnosis…
Read this storyHER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Jane’s Survivor Story
Jane Dennington was living in Haiti with her husband, Bud, doing missionary work when she noticed a growing lump in her breast. Local X-ray equipment malfunctioned, and she was told everything looked fine, but Jane knew the lump was getting bigger. She…
Read this storyStage III BRCA2 Breast Cancer: Ashley’s Survivor Story
Ashley was 28 when she was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in January 2017. At the time, she was nursing her youngest child and initially thought the lump in her right breast was a clogged milk duct. Her biggest concern after diagnosis was how cancer…
Read this storyHER2-Positive Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Trish’s Patient Story
Trish Vickery learned in 2013 that she had inflammatory breast cancer, a diagnosis that carried particular weight because her mother had died from the same disease. At age 58, Trish described coming to Dana-Farber as one of the luckiest decisions of her life…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Sarah’s Patient Story
Sarah was 37 when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer had affected several women in her family: her grandmother was a 40-year survivor, her aunt a 20-year survivor, and her mother had also been diagnosed. Sarah said her family did not…
Read this storyStage III HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dorothy’s Survivor Story
Dorothy Paterson found a lump in her right breast while showering in 1998, even though her mammogram the year before had been clear. Testing first showed invasive ductal carcinoma, and additional evaluation at MD Anderson revealed HER2-positive breast cancer…
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