Breast Cancer: 732 Real Stories
732 stories match breast cancer. 559 of them mention surgery.
Stage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: LaShae’s Patient Story
LaShae, a PhD student in cancer prevention research, first noticed a small movable breast lump but pushed it aside while trying to keep up with graduate school and powerlifting. By late 2023, the lump had grown and become painful, so she finally brought it up…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Krista’s Patient Story
Krista’s breast cancer journey began with her mother’s history. Her mother had breast cancer twice and later learned she carried a pathogenic ATM mutation. After her mother died, Krista chose genetic testing and found that she carried the same mutation…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was 22 when a breast lump, initially treated as an infection, was confirmed as cancer. Further imaging found a small rib lesion that shrank with chemotherapy, showing that the disease had already spread and making the diagnosis stage 4. She received…
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 storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Kelsey’s Patient Story
Kelsey was 27 when she felt a slightly tender breast lump in May 2023. Her primary care doctor initially thought it might be a cyst, but ultrasound and mammogram showed something more serious: Stage IIB estrogen-positive breast cancer. The diagnosis was…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Lourdes’s Survivor Story
Lourdes del Río’s breast cancer was found after a suspicious mammogram led to additional imaging. A sonogram also raised concern, and the radiologist told her there was a malignancy. Two tumors were biopsied: one was thought likely benign and the other likely…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Mandy’s Patient Story
Mandy was 44 and raising 2 children when a routine mammogram in April 2024 led to more imaging. She had recently lost about 30 pounds, so she was not alarmed when she was called back for a diagnostic mammogram on May 28. After several rounds of images, the…
Read this storyStage 0 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Kathleen’s Survivor Story
Kathleen first lived with years of imaging follow-up for a small shadow in her left breast, then developed bloody nipple discharge. Biopsies and imaging did not clearly show invasive cancer, but DCIS became concerning enough that mastectomy was recommended…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Tia’s Patient Story
After breast cancer surgery, Tia developed significant stiffness in her left shoulder and swelling in her chest. The shoulder felt almost frozen, and after several unsuccessful attempts to find an explanation she learned that the symptoms could reflect early…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Erica’s Survivor Story
Erica Deligne's breast cancer experience led her to choose aesthetic flat closure instead of reconstruction. After surgery changed her body, she leaned into style as a way to rebuild confidence rather than hide what she had been through. Her work now centers…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Claudia’s Survivor Story
Claudia had a routine mammogram at 40 that came back clear, even though she was told she had extremely dense breast tissue. One year later, during a regular OB-GYN visit, her provider felt 2 lumps. Follow-up imaging and biopsy confirmed multifocal invasive…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Stephani’s Survivor Story
Stephani St. Cyr felt a long lump under her right arm while watching a movie at home. Her primary doctor suspected a cyst but referred her to a specialist. The breast cancer doctor immediately suspected cancer, and biopsy confirmed it. Further tests showed…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Anne’s Patient Story
Anne Keane was diagnosed in 2016 after pain in her sternum led to testing that found HER2-positive breast cancer already involving her bones and liver. She was a young mother, and learning that the disease was metastatic and incurable was devastating. At 42…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Katie’s Patient Story
Katie, a nurse in Cleveland, was 38 when she was diagnosed with Stage III invasive lobular carcinoma in March 2024. She had been referred to a high-risk breast clinic because her mother and 2 sisters had developed breast cancer, but her first mammogram and…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Maggie’s Survivor Story
Maggie was applying for a U.S. green card when she was diagnosed in 2022 with de novo Stage IV triple-negative breast cancer. She is from the Netherlands and had planned to move to the United States because her wife is American. Before the diagnosis, she…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chance’s Survivor Story
Chance was 24 and already knew she carried a BRCA1 mutation when she saw a lump protruding from her chest during a beach trip. A January 2021 MRI had looked normal, so the sudden change felt alarming. Her care team moved quickly: ultrasound, mammogram, MRI…
Read this storyStage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Kelly’s Survivor Story
Kelly was 33 when she folded her arms and felt a golf ball-sized lump near her left armpit. She had no family history of breast cancer and did not test positive for an inherited gene mutation, but imaging and biopsy confirmed triple-negative breast cancer…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Karen’s Survivor Story
Karen moved from Seattle to Honolulu in July 2023 to lead an oncology service line. Two months later, at age 43, she found a breast lump despite having had a clear screening mammogram 9 months earlier. She had dense breast tissue and a family history of young…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: India’s Survivor Story
India Robinson was 40 when her first mammogram in August 2022 led to more imaging, ultrasound, and 2 biopsies. On October 25, her birthday, she learned that 1 biopsied area was malignant. Within days, she and her family met with a Cleveland Clinic team to…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Kate’s Patient Story
Kate first found a breast lump while breastfeeding her daughter in 2022. She was told it was probably a cyst and that she was too young for mammography or biopsy. The lump continued to grow, but repeated assessments still did not lead to tissue testing. In…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Kate’s Patient Story
Kate first felt a breast lump while breastfeeding. An ultrasound found a 4 mm mass, but she was told she was too young for a mammogram or biopsy and that it was likely a cyst. In November 2023, the lump had grown to 2-3 cm, but she was again told not to…
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 storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Janelle’s Patient Story
Janelle was 41 and living near Baltimore when a routine mammogram in May 2024 showed increased calcifications in her right breast. She had known about a right-breast lump since age 17, when ultrasound called it a benign cyst, and she had started mammograms…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Deltra’s Patient Story
Deltra James was diagnosed at 33 with de novo Stage IV triple-negative metastatic breast cancer. Her advocacy has focused not only on living with advanced cancer, but also on quality-of-life issues that many patients are embarrassed to raise. In this 2024…
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