Radiation for Breast Cancer: 373 Real Stories
373 stories match breast cancer and radiation. 346 of them mention surgery.
Stage III Breast Cancer: Antonia’s Survivor Story
Antonia was 39 and raising 2 children when she noticed a protruding mass in her breast, along with irritation and swelling. She was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. The news left her frightened, confused and overwhelmed, with a strong sense of…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Anna’s Survivor Story
Anna, 51, noticed a lump and a change in the shape of one breast before being diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer. The diagnosis brought fear, grief, isolation, and financial stress. Her first oncologist recommended lumpectomy, lymphadenectomy, chemotherapy…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Tessa’s Patient Story
Tessa’s breast cancer was detected during a routine mammogram, when a small tumor measuring about 12 mm was found. The diagnosis came as a surprise, especially because Tessa was caring for an elderly mother at the time and felt there was little space in life…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Katie’s Survivor Story
Katie Robb Sewall was 27 when a double mastectomy in 2014 changed what she thought was stage 0 breast cancer into a Stage III diagnosis. Pathology showed the cancer had spread from the breast ducts into lymph nodes. Katie and her husband, Craig, had to move…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jacque’s Patient Story
Jacque, an academic advisor and mother of 2 grown children, found a hard, gritty, annoying lump under her left arm and breast in 2019. Her OB-GYN agreed it should be checked, but a mammogram and ultrasound were initially reassuring, and the radiologist told…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Sandra’s Survivor Story
Sandra Monsonís was 43 and had not had a medical checkup for more than 5 years when a friend encouraged her to see a gynecologist. She had some breast discomfort but did not feel a clear lump. That visit found a lump that became a triple-negative breast…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Martha’s Survivor Story
Martha had a dense area in her right breast that worried her throughout her 40s. Multiple mammograms over about 10 years were read as benign. At 49, another mammogram and an ultrasound were also considered benign, but Martha consulted a surgeon who agreed the…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Kathleen’s Survivor Story
Kathleen Shaffer was diagnosed with right breast cancer in early 2019. She had a lumpectomy and 2 lymph nodes removed in March, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. After finishing cancer treatment, she expected to move forward, but new pain and swelling…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Theresa’s Patient Story
Theresa Reynolds was 85 when she learned she had breast cancer and needed a mastectomy. Her first instinct was to avoid treatment. Her mother had also had breast cancer, and Theresa remembered what that experience looked like. She worried about putting…
Read this storyBRCA1 Breast Cancer: Muriel’s Survivor Story
Muriel Verger was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2015, when she was 33 and close to turning 34. She also reported a BRCA1 abnormality. Because the tumor was not large, her surgical treatment was a tumorectomy, also understood as…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA2 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Julie’s Patient Story
Julie is an emergency medicine physician in Maryland, a wife, and a mother of 3. In October 2019, soon after a family trip to Italy, she noticed a small indentation on the outer part of her right breast while getting out of the shower. A mammogram did not…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Màrius’s Patient Story
Màrius Soler is a man with breast cancer and the founder of INVI, an association created to make men with breast cancer visible. His story began with a small lump behind the nipple. Like many men, he did not immediately think of breast cancer and waited about…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Angie’s Patient Story
Angie is a nurse and RN case manager in Louisiana. Because of earlier microcalcifications, she had been getting annual mammograms. She postponed a February 2017 mammogram until May because she had started a new job and expected another negative result. This…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Maureen’s Patient Story
Maureen is an entomologist who spent her career on university campuses and now lives in Georgia. At the beginning of the COVID epidemic in 2020, she was diagnosed by biopsy with pleomorphic invasive lobular carcinoma. Hospitals were limiting access to…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jeanine’s Patient Story
Jeanine had annual mammograms for 10 years because of a family history of breast cancer. In 2016, after years of watching microcalcifications, she noticed that a cyst-like area in her right breast would not go away and that the same breast had slight…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Susie’s’s Patient Story
Susie became involved with the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance after her daughter was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma. Her daughter was 42 and living in California when doctors found an 8 cm ILC in the left breast. Her mammogram had been clear the…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Hillary’s Survivor Story
Hillary Robinson was 52 when a routine medical exam found something abnormal in her right breast. She had been busy with family, community work and her family’s manufacturing business, and she had put off yearly mammograms. An ultrasound and mammogram showed…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Cherie’s Survivor Story
Cherie was 57 when she felt a hard lump in her breast. After receiving a stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis, she sought a second opinion from a more experienced doctor. She also researched her condition and found an estimated 85% 5-year survival rate for people…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Onagh’s Survivor Story
Onagh found a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. The news brought fear, grief, resentment, isolation, and a sense of vulnerability. After diagnosis, she increased her exercise and reduced her alcohol intake from 8 drinks to 2…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Harper’s Patient Story
Harper, 58, sought medical help after noticing a red patch on her breast. Testing at a hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand led to a diagnosis of Stage IV breast cancer. The news was overwhelming, especially because she had already lost her father and…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Aurora’s Patient Story
Aurora, 41, was pregnant in 2021 when half of her breast became hard. She was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer, a frightening and overwhelming experience that left her worried and powerless. She changed her diet after diagnosis and began eating…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Maria’s Patient Story
Maria’s doctors initially planned mastectomy, lymphadenectomy, and chemotherapy for her breast cancer. During the mastectomy, they found that cancer had reached lymph nodes, and the treatment plan had to change. Radiation therapy was later added. Treatment…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Rachael’s Patient Story
Rachael found a breast lump during a routine self-check and was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2021. She also noticed changes in the size and shape of the breast and irritation or dimpling of the skin. The diagnosis left her numb, resentful…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Beth’s Survivor Story
Beth, 41, followed her intuition after persistent breast pain continued beyond her menstrual cycle. She scheduled a mammogram, and by that evening she learned she had Stage III breast cancer. She had no other symptoms, so acting on that pain became a key part…
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