Breast Cancer: 732 Real Stories
732 stories match breast cancer. 559 of them mention surgery.
Stage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Harvey’s Patient Story
Aileen tells the story of her husband Harvey, who was 59 when he was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast. Harvey first noticed a lump in summer 2022 but thought it was probably another lipoma. In early 2023, he hit the right side of his…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chance’s Survivor Story
Chance Osborne was 24 when she was diagnosed with Stage II triple-negative breast cancer, a diagnosis made more complicated by a family history of cancer and a BRCA1 mutation. Being young did not protect her from aggressive disease, and her story became a…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dorian’s Survivor Story
Dorian de Salvo was active, working out 5 to 6 times a week, when she began gaining weight without a clear reason. One doctor dismissed her concerns, but another ran blood work that suggested something could be wrong. While traveling for work, Dorian found a…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Amy’s Patient Story
Amy Dowden was 32 when she shared that she had breast cancer in May 2023. Already known to many people as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, she had to face diagnosis while living much of her life in public. Her story highlights a layer of cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Leslie’s Patient Story
Leslie was 56 when her breast cancer diagnosis unfolded over 2.5 months in 2017. A March 3D mammogram led to a call-back for the left breast, but the follow-up report was normal and noted dense breasts that could obscure small masses. Leslie still sensed that…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Loriana’s Survivor Story
Loriana was a high-profile news anchor in Austin, Texas, doing national fitness and medical stories when her own health changed. While trying to have a second baby, she dismissed warning signs and was misdiagnosed twice before using professional connections…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Katrina’s Survivor Story
Katrina M. Johnson's cancer history spans more than one diagnosis, but this breast cancer story centers on survivorship after triple-negative breast cancer. She is a three-time breast cancer survivor and a two-time melanoma survivor, and she brings that long…
Read this storyStage I Breast Adenocarcinoma: Debbie’s Survivor Story
Debbie Wade had abnormal nipple discharge for almost 4 years before her Stage I breast cancer diagnosis. Starting in 2017, she noticed blood-tinged fluid from her left breast. Biopsy showed intraductal papillomas, and a surgeon removed them, but discharge…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA Breast Cancer: Dena’s Patient Story
Dena Ofengeim was 28 in December 2021 when worsening back pain and leg weakness sent her to the emergency room. Imaging found a mass pressing on the nerves of her spine. Surgery removed the mass, and a biopsy showed that it was breast cancer that had spread…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Patient Story
After Dena Ofengeim was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at 28, she learned that her grandfather had died from breast cancer. Until then, Dena had not been aware of a family history that might have made breast cancer feel relevant to her at such a…
Read this storyInvasive Ductal Carcinoma: Sally’s Patient Story
Sally Johnston’s first experience with breast cancer came in the 1990s, when she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, an early form of breast cancer. She was treated at Dana-Farber and continued follow-up for years afterward. Over time, those…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Sally’s Survivor Story
In 2013, Sally Johnston was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer after her primary care provider found a lump near her clavicle. A biopsy confirmed breast cancer involving lymph nodes. The cancer was estrogen receptor-positive. Sally began treatment with an…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Paula’s Patient Story
Paula found a strange lump in her right breast and was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She had no other symptoms. The diagnosis was shocking and left her confused, worried, surprised, and vulnerable, although her doctor’s guidance also gave her some…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Gail’s Patient Story
Gail, 65, is a mother of 2 from the United Kingdom who works in administration. In August 2024, she was diagnosed with Stage III luminal A breast cancer after feeling a lump in her breast that did not go away after a few weeks. She was surprised by the…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Susana’s Patient Story
Susana’s breast cancer was found after a mammogram was moved forward when she raised concerns about changes while breastfeeding her 2-year-old child. Imaging revealed a 4.5 cm breast mass and 3 affected lymph nodes, leading to a Stage III breast cancer…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chantal’s Survivor Story
Chantal was 24 and already knew she carried a BRCA1 mutation when she felt a sudden painful lump during a beach trip. Just 1 month earlier, her preventive MRI had looked normal. Because the lump was visible and clearly new, she sought testing quickly. Biopsy…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Kris’s Patient Story
Kris Hallenga was 23 when she was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. By the time she spoke with Dr. Liz O'Riordan in December 2023, she had been living with advanced breast cancer for 14 years. Her story is not built around a detailed treatment timeline…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jessica’s Patient Story
Jessica had a clear baseline mammogram in 2019, although it showed dense breast tissue. In June 2023, a routine mammogram found a swollen lymph node in her armpit. Additional imaging also showed an area of distortion in the breast, beginning a series of…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Sherri’s Patient Story
Sherri was first diagnosed in November 2022 with aggressive Stage IV metastatic breast cancer after her blood counts dropped and doctors found a breast mass. The cancer had spread to her bone marrow, so she needed multiple transfusions before starting…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Patient Story
This breast cancer support episode focuses on what happens emotionally after diagnosis. Dr. Liz O'Riordan begins from the kind of thoughts many patients recognize: fear of dying, fear the cancer will come back, and long nights spent trying to make sense of…
Read this storyStage IV Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Corky’s Patient Story
Corky Thacker was 64 when breast discoloration that first seemed like a heat rash eventually led to a Stage IV inflammatory breast cancer diagnosis. She was careful about annual mammograms, but inflammatory breast cancer can be hard to detect because it often…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Brenda’s Survivor Story
Brenda first found a breast lump in 2017, when she was in her early 40s. She was told it was a cyst, while an area of calcification seen on mammography was monitored every 6 months for the next 5 years. During a mammogram in May 2022, the area believed to be…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Olivia’s Survivor Story
Olivia Franz was 27 and breastfeeding her 4-month-old son when she noticed a painless lump in her left breast in mid-October 2020. An initial ultrasound suggested mastitis, but the lump and swelling grew during a week of antibiotics. A second ultrasound and…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Leigh’s Patient Story
Leigh was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma in 2011. She was shocked to learn that the cancer could be difficult to see on mammograms and biologically different from the more common ductal subtype, yet did not have a separate treatment approach. With…
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