mastectomy for Breast Cancer: 355 Real Stories
355 stories match breast cancer and mastectomy. 338 of them mention surgery.
Stage II Breast Cancer: Ana’s Survivor Story
Ana, 51, was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer after an unexpected workup. She had no family history of cancer and wanted a second opinion because she felt her first doctor had not given her enough information. She also described noticing blood from the…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Tonya’s Survivor Story
Tonya, a radiographer and mother of two, was living in Ireland when a routine mammogram led to a same-day biopsy. She received the biopsy result 3 days later and learned that she had breast cancer. Tonya first chose lumpectomy after her doctor recommended…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Lindsey’s Patient Story
Lindsey Ballas was balancing work, family and cancer care after being diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. She owned a hair salon and wanted treatment to disrupt her life as little as possible. Her main goal was to keep life close to normal while…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Roxana’s Patient Story
Roxana Lopez was 25 when she was diagnosed with Stage II invasive ductal carcinoma in her left breast in August 2015. Breast and ovarian cancer had affected several women in her family, including her mother, who died of breast cancer when Roxana and her twin…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Patient Story
At 36, six months after giving birth to her second daughter, this patient was diagnosed with hormone-sensitive breast cancer. The diagnosis echoed a striking family history: her mother had developed breast cancer at the same age, her aunt had also had breast…
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 storyBreast Cancer: Marianne’s Survivor Story
Marianne Gongos was 60 when a lump appeared in her left breast in 2011. She was already living with chronic myeloid leukemia, diagnosed in 1999, and had reached remission through a clinical drug trial. Surgery confirmed breast cancer, leading to removal of…
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 storyBreast Cancer: Amanda’s Survivor Story
Amanda knew that a CDH1 gene mutation ran in the family and increased the risk of both breast cancer and hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. Amanda’s mother had breast cancer, while a sister and brother had gastric cancer. After testing positive for the…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Natalia’s Survivor Story
Natalia, from Colombia, had a hard, growing lump in her left breast. An early ultrasound found nothing, and three months passed before a mastologist removed the lump and confirmed cancer. Dissatisfied with the information and manner of her first doctor, she…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Debora’s Patient Story
Debora, 65, lives in the United Kingdom and was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in 2017 after noticing a dimple across her left breast. The diagnosis brought anger, fear, sadness, numbness, and vulnerability. Her initial treatment plan included…
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…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Stephanie’s Survivor Story
Stephanie Spiesz was 50 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2013. She had noticed lumps in her left breast but was not especially worried until her husband urged her to see a doctor. Within days, she had a checkup, mammogram and biopsy, and…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Sarah’s Patient Story
Sarah Cawley, a 32-year-old physician assistant and mother of 2, first noticed a breast lump while breastfeeding. That lump was a milk cyst, but she was advised to return after breastfeeding ended. At the next visit, another lump was found and monitored…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Breast Cancer: Mariana’s Patient Story
At age 30, this patient found a large lump in her left breast after noticing a brief pain. A mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy led to a Stage II breast cancer diagnosis. Because several relatives had developed cancer at young ages, she was also referred for…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Gretchen’s Survivor Story
Because a germline CDH1 mutation also increased her risk of lobular breast cancer, Gretchen Borzi alternated mammograms and breast MRI every 6 months. In March 2014, MRI identified a small abnormal area that was confirmed by biopsy as invasive lobular…
Read this storyStage I BRCA1 Breast Cancer: Karen’s Patient Story
Karen first had a breast lump biopsied and learned that it was a benign galactocele. A separate, asymptomatic lesion was found in the other breast and became the focus of follow-up. When it was rechecked and biopsied three months later, it was diagnosed as…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Martha’s Survivor Story
Martha was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer more than a decade ago after the cancer was found during a health examination. She had no symptoms and no family history of breast cancer, so the diagnosis was unexpected. She sought a second opinion while…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Mary’s Survivor Story
Mary was diagnosed with stage 3 metaplastic breast cancer in May 2007 after an 11-month delay. She had noticed a lump in her left breast, along with nipple discharge, redness, irritation, and thickening. Across nine medical visits, mammography, scanning…
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