Breast Cancer: 732 Real Stories
732 stories match breast cancer. 559 of them mention surgery.
Stage IV Breast Cancer: Bethany’s Patient Story
Bethany was 34 when she was first diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer. After treatment, she reached remission and was told she was cancer-free. She made major life changes afterward, including separating from her husband, moving to Colorado, and starting a…
Read this storyStage 0 HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Natalie’s Survivor Story
Natalie found a lump in her right breast after nursing her third child. Mammogram and ultrasound did not explain what she could still feel, so she pushed for a specialist. After 6 months of watching the area, she had a lumpectomy, and pathology showed Stage 0…
Read this storyStage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Stephanie’s Survivor Story
Stephanie found a small lump in her left breast while self-employed and uninsured. Because she could not ignore the possibility of cancer, she researched options and was connected with the Bridge Breast Network, which helps uninsured and underinsured women in…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Doreen’s Patient Story
Doreen was diagnosed with Stage IIA triple-positive invasive ductal breast cancer after finding a lump in her left breast during a work trip. Getting the right imaging took persistence: after several calls and one wrong order, she finally had the correct…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Callie’s Survivor Story
Callie was 38 when she noticed dimpling and a bulge in her breast. Her husband urged her to take it seriously, and her primary care doctor quickly arranged a mammogram and ultrasound. The radiologist told her the mammogram was BI-RADS 5, highly suspicious for…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Breast Cancer: Joy’s Survivor Story
Joy began checking her breasts after a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, and that habit helped her notice a lump. A private clinic performed ultrasound, mammogram, and biopsy, and the doctor was confident it was breast cancer even before the biopsy…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Monica’s Survivor Story
Monica was 36 when she felt a firm knot in her breast while working on shoulder strength after unrelated injuries. Imaging quickly raised concern, and a surgical biopsy led to a Stage IIB breast cancer diagnosis on November 2. Her doctors wanted chemotherapy…
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 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 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 storyBRCA2 Breast Cancer: Erika’s Patient Story
Erika was in college when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time and tested positive for a BRCA2 mutation. Years later, as Erika approached the age her mother had been at her first breast cancer diagnosis, she met with a genetic…
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 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 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 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 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 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 IV HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Amy’s Patient Story
Amy had experienced back and hip pain since her early 30s. When it worsened in June 2022, she was told she was getting older. Four months later, she noticed an inverted nipple and immediately contacted her primary-care clinician. Mammography and ultrasound…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer Patient Story
The patient was 41, active in bodybuilding, and up to date on mammograms when she first noticed blood from her nipple rather than a breast lump. After the bleeding stopped, she was initially sent home. About 1 month later, she developed a large breast lump…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Gynna’s Patient Story
Gynna, who lives in Colombia, first noticed a small breast lump in 2017, but doctors were not initially worried. After she recovered from COVID-19 in January 2021, the lump felt different and much larger. Her doctor sent her for a biopsy, and 7 tissue samples…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was 22 when she noticed a breast lump in 2019. Because she was so young, doctors first considered causes such as a cyst or infection, but biopsy eventually confirmed breast cancer. Further testing found cancer in her rib and lymph nodes, making it…
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 IV Breast Cancer: Elissa’s Patient Story
Elissa Kalver was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer just before her daughter’s 1st birthday. The diagnosis brought the shock of Stage IV cancer together with the everyday responsibilities of caring for a very young child. One of the hardest parts was…
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