Radiation for Breast Cancer: 373 Real Stories
373 stories match breast cancer and radiation. 346 of them mention surgery.
Stage 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 storyStage 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 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 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 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 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 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 storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Juliette’s Survivor Story
Juliette Landgrave was 38, healthy and years away from routine mammography when she felt a breast lump in the shower. Imaging found two tumors: the one she could feel and another deeper tumor seen only on MRI. She was diagnosed with triple-negative breast…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Anna’s Survivor Story
Anna was 37 and living in Brooklyn with her husband, Jordan, and their 3-year-old son when she found a breast lump on her birthday. At first, the lump did not feel strongly suspicious to the doctor, and Anna had no obvious family-history or lifestyle risk…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Nina’s Survivor Story
Nina was 34 when she noticed hardening under her left armpit. About 1 year later, the lump had grown and her breast began to show dimpling. A mammogram and ultrasound found an abnormal lump, and a biopsy confirmed Stage III breast cancer. Soon afterward…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Nina’s Survivor Story
Nina was 34 when she was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Her first sign was a hard strip under her left armpit, not the small pea-like lump she had been told to watch for. At first, she was reassured because she was young, had dense breast…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren found a lump in her right breast during a self-exam and quickly contacted her doctor. She was referred to radiology for an ultrasound and biopsy, which led to a diagnosis of invasive ductal breast cancer. Her cancer was Stage II. At first, a sentinel…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: Anna’s Survivor Story
Anna Rathkopf was 37 when she found a lump in her breast on her birthday. She was living in Brooklyn with her husband and their 2.5-year-old son, and they had just started thinking about a second child. A prior doctor had told her she did not need a mammogram…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: Anna’s Survivor Story
Anna found a breast lump on her 37th birthday. Her gynecologist initially did not consider it urgent, but Anna pushed for further testing. Because she had dense breast tissue, ultrasound was important in identifying the tumor, and a biopsy confirmed…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Francina’s Survivor Story
Francina had no breast cancer symptoms when her routine mammogram the day after Christmas found something suspicious. A few days later, her doctor called her back for another mammogram and an ultrasound because a mass had been seen. The ultrasound confirmed…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Erica’s Survivor Story
Erica Watson was 51 when pain and a breast lump led to a diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer. She had stayed current with mammograms and had breast cancer in her family, so the diagnosis still came as a shock. A formal stage was not shared, but her…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dee’s Patient Story
Dee was 31 and breastfeeding in 2017 when pain in her left breast was followed by a large lump. Her symptoms were initially minimized because of her age, but she kept pushing for answers and eventually had an ultrasound through a private hospital. She was…
Read this storyInvasive Ductal Carcinoma: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren O’Connell, a beauty editor and mother of 2 living in Dubai, found her breast cancer during a self-exam in December 2023. She felt a large lump in the 12 o’clock area of her right breast and quickly had imaging and a biopsy. The diagnosis was invasive…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dee’s Patient Story
Dee Doherty was first diagnosed at age 31 with Stage III invasive ductal carcinoma and extensive DCIS in her left breast. Her early signs included trouble producing milk on the left side while breastfeeding, then breast pain and a growing lumpy area. Because…
Read this storyStage IV KRAS Breast Cancer: Lauren’s Patient Story
Lauren, from Houston, first found a breast lump in 2014 after breastfeeding her second child. It was initially dismissed as a fibroadenoma, but 2 years later she developed breast pain and noticed that her left nipple looked unusual. She was diagnosed with…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Lourdes’s Patient Story
Lourdes Monje was 25 when they noticed a new mass in their chest in October 2020. After an ultrasound, biopsy, and several scans, they were diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in January 2021. The diagnosis disrupted plans for a new career and brought…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Kristie’s Survivor Story
Kristie had worked in healthcare quality improvement and had always emphasized early screening. In June 2021, during a routine physical, she scheduled her annual mammogram for the next day. She expected another uneventful result, but a few days later she was…
Read this story