mastectomy for Breast Cancer: 355 Real Stories
355 stories match breast cancer and mastectomy. 338 of them mention surgery.
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Doris’s Survivor Story
Doris Teller was 58, divorced, and living on her own when she described treatment for triple-negative breast cancer. Her mammogram had been normal, but about 3 months later she felt a hard area in her breast. When the lump grew, her gynecologist ordered a…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Helga’s Survivor Story
Helga Dietrich was 60 when she reflected on breast cancer first diagnosed at age 41, soon after her family moved to a new city. Her 2 children were still minors, and knowing they were well cared for during treatment gave her relief. At the first diagnosis…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Baerbel’s Survivor Story
Baerbel Grafenbach was 60 when early-stage breast cancer was found in late 2011 through mammography and biopsy. Her doctor described it as a non-aggressive cancer at an early stage and called it a good diagnosis. Because of that, Baerbel was able to take time…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Gerda’s Patient Story
Gerda Martin was 73 when she reflected on breast cancer diagnosed in 2008. She first noticed a change during a sauna visit: her nipple was pulling inward. She went to her gynecologist, and further testing led to the diagnosis. Surgery removed her right…
Read this storyBRCA1 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: Kirsten’s Survivor Story
Kirsten Seifert was 52, married, and working as a freelance sports trainer when breast cancer was diagnosed. She had 3 adult children and received the diagnosis about 1 year before rehabilitation. Her gynecologist first advised immediate surgery, but Kirsten…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Ute’s Survivor Story
Ute Schuhmacher was 63 when she looked back on 17 years with breast cancer and recurrence. Her first diagnosis came in 1996, when her children were still young. Fear for them was one of her greatest worries. Several operations were needed from the beginning…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Sonja’s Patient Story
Sonja Zeiss-Wengler was 51 when she described breast cancer diagnosed at the end of 2006. She had been under regular gynecologic monitoring because of a hard area in the breast. When her gynecologist noticed that something had changed, she was referred for…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Elke’s Survivor Story
Elke Ferch was 66 at the time of her interview and had first been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1991. The diagnosis came as a shock, especially because she was still a young woman and had to face losing a breast. Surgery removed her right breast and about…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Nurguel’s Patient Story
Nurguel Dogan was 40, married, and the mother of 2 sons when she described breast cancer diagnosed in 2009. A lump was found during regular early-detection care, and biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. Her first worry was for her sons, who were 10 and 11…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Rosemarie’s Survivor Story
Rosemarie Berthel was 74 at the time of her interview and had received her breast cancer diagnosis at 71. She was widowed, the mother of 4, and already a grandmother and great-grandmother. Mammography had shown scattered abnormal cells in 2007, but she…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Iris’s Survivor Story
Iris Ludwig was 30 when breast cancer was diagnosed in 2001. Because she worked in a medical field, she already knew what many cancer treatments could involve, yet the diagnosis still left her feeling unable to react. Chemotherapy began before…
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 storyBRCA1 Breast Cancer: Julia’s Patient Story
Julia Bring was 28 when she described breast cancer that began just 2 months after her wedding. She and her husband had been planning for a child when mammography and biopsy led to the diagnosis in August 2010. Because she was only 25, her doctors…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Kim’s Survivor Story
Kim A. was 49 when she shared her Stage III breast cancer experience. More than 3 years earlier, a sharp, shooting pain in her right breast led her to notice a lump. Mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsies confirmed Stage III breast cancer with lymph node…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer Patient Story
A woman in her 40s had her first mammogram and learned she had Stage I breast cancer. Because of the diagnosis, she underwent a total mastectomy. After surgery, she continued with hormone therapy. The physical treatment was only part of the experience. Losing…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Survivor Story
A woman found a breast lump herself and had it checked when a breast specialist was visiting a nearby clinic. She was quickly sent to a hospital for testing and was diagnosed with breast cancer. The time from discovery to surgery moved fast, but she felt…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Alba’s Patient Story
Alba, 58, first went to the doctor because of unexplained weight loss. During breast cancer screening, doctors found a painless lump in her right breast, and a biopsy confirmed Stage II breast cancer. She also described physical fatigue during the process…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: CL’s Survivor Story
CL, 58, is from Singapore and was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer after noticing suspicious symptoms during a self-examination. She consulted a doctor, then sought a second opinion because she wanted advice from a more experienced doctor. Based on her…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Emilcen’s Patient Story
Emilcen, 58, is from Colombia and was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer after finding a lump in her left breast. She went through mammogram, biopsy, and histochemistry testing before receiving the diagnosis. The news brought fear and worry, and she…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Kristel’s Survivor Story
Kristel was 38, married with 3 children, and working as a communications director in Wisconsin when she found a breast lump just before Christmas 2018. At her yearly check-up in January, she was sent for a mammogram and ultrasound, but both were read as…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Katie’s Patient Story
Katie was 56 and living south of London when she shared her experience with invasive lobular carcinoma. Her primary breast cancer had been diagnosed at 50 after mild pain in her right breast. A mammogram did not show the cancer, and the diagnosis was…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Kerri’s Survivor Story
Kerri was 49, living on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, and used to regular mammograms because of a family history of breast cancer. In March 2018, shortly after her yearly mammogram, she received a letter saying the mammogram was clear. Five months…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Lucy’s Survivor Story
Lucy was 47 when she found a pea-sized lump in the outer quadrant of her right breast during a self-exam in 2003. A mammogram and ultrasound did not show cancer, and she was told the lump was a fluid-filled cyst. Over the next 15 months, the area grew to the…
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