Radiation for Breast Cancer: 373 Real Stories
373 stories match breast cancer and radiation. 346 of them mention surgery.
Stage I Breast Cancer: Mariana’s Patient Story
Mariana was diagnosed with stage I breast cancer through a health examination after also experiencing a pricking pain. Her family history included two cousins with breast cancer and two cousins with leukemia. She felt emotionally neutral when first given the…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Vivienne’s Survivor Story
Vivienne noticed that something was wrong with her breast in February 2021, when it became engorged and her nipple inverted. She sought medical care, and the evaluation eventually led to a breast cancer diagnosis. The news left her frightened, worried…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Marisol’s Survivor Story
Marisol found several large lumps in her right breast and was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. The diagnosis left her frightened, nervous, worried, and powerless. Following her doctor’s recommendation, she chose a plan that included mastectomy…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Martha’s Survivor Story
Martha’s breast cancer was found during a regular examination after she experienced pain extending from her breast to her back, swelling, and a change in breast size. Her family history included a sister with breast cancer and a mother with liver cancer…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Kelly’s Patient Story
Kelly was 41 when she shared her Stage III breast cancer experience. She had first noticed redness spreading across her right breast and was diagnosed in her mid-30s, around 2021. Her doctor discussed an estimated 5-year survival rate of 80%. The diagnosis…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Shamala’s Survivor Story
Shamala found a small lump near her right breast and sought medical attention because it felt out of place. Testing led to a diagnosis of Stage II breast cancer. The diagnosis brought fear, sadness and a strong sense of helplessness, but she focused on what…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Melissa’s Patient Story
Melissa, from Australia, initially thought pain and twinges around her ribs might be fractures. Her general practitioner ordered a chest X-ray and also suggested her first mammogram and breast ultrasound. The testing found stage 1 breast cancer in 2021. The…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Ana’s Survivor Story
Ana was 57 and living in Colombia when she found a lump in her left breast while bathing. A general practitioner arranged a mammogram and then a biopsy, which confirmed stage 2 breast cancer. She was a stay-at-home mother of 3 and the head of her household…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Ingrid’s Patient Story
Ingrid’s breast cancer was found during follow-up after an annual gynecology visit, when mammography showed a breast mass. An oncologist performed a biopsy and confirmed stage 2 breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy, lymphadenectomy, chemotherapy, and…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Barb’s Survivor Story
Barb’s invasive lobular breast cancer was found after a routine mammogram in November 2016. She had no symptoms and no family history of cancer, so she did not expect the call-back to become serious. Second-look imaging led to ultrasound and biopsy, which…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Deborah’s Patient Story
Deborah Brown was 69 when a routine mammogram on March 2, 2020, found a suspicious area in her breast just as COVID-19 was beginning to shut down New York City. Follow-up ultrasound, bilateral mammogram and biopsy on March 17 confirmed Stage I breast cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Allison’s Patient Story
Allison Rebello was 36 when a mammogram in 2011 showed invasive ductal cancer in her right breast. Further testing also found cancer in the left breast. She underwent a right mastectomy with reconstruction and a left lumpectomy followed by 6 weeks of…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Pam’s Patient Story
Pam Benchley was 53, a triathlete, cyclist and fitness trainer, when she noticed inflamed skin on her left breast. A recent mammogram had not shown cancer, so she first thought the irritation came from a sports bra. A local doctor biopsied the area and found…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Caitlin’s Patient Story
Caitlin J. was 29 when she found a lump in her breast and had to push for evaluation while uninsured. Planned Parenthood referred her for imaging, and a mammogram showed a mass. Biopsy results came back within 3 days and confirmed Stage IIB ER-positive…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Kristine’s Patient Story
Kristine Bishop first noticed a slightly painful breast lump in 2008. It was a fibroadenoma, a noncancerous tumor, and it was removed. A year later, her mother pushed her to keep a follow-up mammogram appointment. That mammogram showed a tiny starburst-like…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine Hodgdon was 34, active, and training for a triathlon when she was diagnosed with aggressive metastatic breast cancer. The cancer was HER2-positive. She had no family history of breast cancer and described the diagnosis as a complete shock. Her…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine Cosby was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in March 2018 after finding a lump in her right breast. Before treatment began, she joined a pilot study of exercise-based prehabilitation, giving her a practical way to build strength during the 2…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Eva’s Patient Story
Eva Joseph’s breast cancer journey began in March 2002, when a mammogram found two areas in her left breast. She first had a lumpectomy, but cancer remained at the margins, so she underwent a mastectomy. Cancer was also found in the sentinel lymph node…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Cheryl’s Survivor Story
Cheryl West was already undergoing extensive treatment for a separate cancer of the hard palate when she received a breast-cancer diagnosis. In 2011, surgeons removed the right side of her hard palate, her maxilla, parts of the eye socket, soft palate, and…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Ximena’s Patient Story
Ximena Nardelli, a Colombian woman living in the United States, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 40. She had been careful about yearly breast screening because her sister had breast cancer, but she did not initially feel a breast lump. Before a 2018 trip…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Dan’s Patient Story
Dan DiNardo was 49 when he was diagnosed with advanced male breast cancer in 2015. He had first noticed a breast lump, but after a mammogram he was told to return if it changed. For nearly a year, the lump grew. Bleeding and skin changes finally pushed him to…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Marese’s Survivor Story
Marese was referred to a breast specialist and diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. The news left her feeling numb, helpless, vulnerable, isolated, and worried about the future. She changed to a hospital closer to home, consulted a second oncologist…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Audrey’s Patient Story
Audrey, 66, had a strong family history of cancer: her mother had breast cancer, her sister had endometrial cancer, and her father had prostate cancer. She had previously undergone a left-breast quadrantectomy in 2010, with milk ducts removed to prevent…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Laura’s Survivor Story
Laura's breast cancer journey began after she experienced sharp pain in her right breast and nipple discharge. The diagnosis brought intense uncertainty, including fear of dying and fear of how treatment would affect her. Her care included surgery to remove…
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