Breast Cancer: 732 Real Stories
732 stories match breast cancer. 559 of them mention surgery.
BRCA2 Breast Cancer: Heiner’s Survivor Story
Heiner Töpfer was 66 at the time of his interview. In 2011, he accidentally felt a lump in his breast and went to the gynecologist of his then partner. Ultrasound and biopsy showed a malignant tumor. A CT scan found that the tumor was locally limited, which…
Read this storyBRCA2 Breast Cancer: Tanja’s Patient Story
Tanja Auer was 46, married, and a mother when she looked back on 2 breast cancer diagnoses. In March 2012, after feeling a lump in her breast, a biopsy confirmed breast cancer. The diagnosis felt overwhelming, but she asked for a week to think before moving…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Silke’s Survivor Story
Silke Winter was 51 at the time of her interview and had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014/2015. She first noticed a soft, unusual area on the right side of her breast, but she was reassured that it did not seem worrying. Only later, after returning…
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 IV Breast Cancer: Tova’s Patient Story
Tova Goldblum was 60 when she described a breast cancer diagnosis that had begun in 1992. At that time, doctors advised removal of the breast. Living in Germany far from her family, she felt very alone with the diagnosis and the treatment decisions. Lists of…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Patient Story
A woman had been living with breast cancer for 1 year and wanted the people around her to know she was still energetic and hopeful. Her tumor was located near or over the breastbone, which made surgery impossible. Instead, she was treated with a…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer Patient Story
A woman who had always been active, healthy, and busy with work and family noticed a lump in the lower inner part of her left breast. For a long time, she tried to convince herself it was a benign breast condition. A doctor's exam changed everything. Testing…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer Survivor Story
A daughter described her mother's breast cancer being found after a company health check in April 2009 recommended further testing. A local doctor saw a white shadow in the left breast and first considered calcification, but sent her to a larger hospital to…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Survivor Story
A man treated for breast cancer had already lived more than 10 years after his first surgery. During that long follow-up period, doctors sometimes found areas suspicious enough to require detailed tissue testing, but the most recent 6-month check-up showed no…
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 storyBreast Cancer Patient Story
In March, a woman found a lump in her right breast. Encouraged by her husband, she decided to go to the hospital even though she had never imagined she might have cancer. The diagnosis was a shock, and thoughts of death came immediately. Her children were…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Patient Story
A 48-year-old woman had left breast-conserving surgery on September 30, 2011. Five days after starting hormone therapy, she was still dealing with the physical aftereffects of treatment, including pain under her arm, side effects from the medication, and a…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Patient Story
A woman in her 20s found a lump in her breast in June and quickly went for screening. The diagnosis was right breast cancer. She had breast-conserving surgery, but because the lump was fairly large, very little of the breast remained. Seeing the large scar…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Irmina’s Survivor Story
Irmina, 64, is from Colombia and was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer after a routine health examination found the disease unexpectedly. She had no symptoms and no family history of cancer, so the diagnosis came as a shock. At first, she felt fearful…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Patient Story
A woman was diagnosed with breast cancer after testing in December. At first, the diagnosis brought shock and confusion. She blamed herself and worried that her own choices had caused the cancer, and her daughter also struggled with guilt. Then, as admission…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Jess’s Patient Story
Jess was 54 when breast cancer was found after her sister encouraged her to get a mammogram because of her age. She had not noticed symptoms, so the Stage I diagnosis came as a shock. Fear, sadness, grief, loneliness, and worry hit quickly, and the experience…
Read this storyBreast Cancer Survivor Story
About 5 years earlier, a woman learned that the results of a health check were concerning. She was encouraged to face the results directly and receive treatment. Further testing confirmed cancer, described as early-stage disease. Because it had been found…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Kacey’s Survivor Story
Kacey was 39 when a scheduled mammogram found a small lump. She had not noticed other symptoms, and the result came suddenly: Stage I breast cancer. The diagnosis made her feel frightened, worried, powerless, vulnerable, and disillusioned. She responded by…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer Patient Story
A woman was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer and had surgery, but the adrenal metastasis could not be removed and remained in place. She went through one standard treatment after another. At times, bowel obstruction led to several hospitalizations…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Kelly’s Survivor Story
Kelly was 75 when Stage I breast cancer was found after she moved to a new area and registered with a new local GP. As part of that check-up process, she was recommended for a mammogram, which led to the diagnosis. She had also experienced pain, but the…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Breast Cancer Patient Story
On April 17, 2008, a woman’s husband noticed a lump in her right breast. She went to a clinic with mammography, where the lump could also be felt on examination. Cytology soon showed a strong suspicion of malignancy, and she was referred to a hospital…
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 storyBreast Cancer Patient Story
This woman had been living with breast cancer for 7.5 years after her first diagnosis. During that time, the cancer recurred or metastasized twice. Early on, she approached surgery and treatment with a practical mindset, telling herself that the diagnosis had…
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…
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