Stage 1 Breast Cancer: 84 Real Stories
84 stories match breast cancer and stage 1. 70 of them mention surgery.
Stage I Breast Cancer: Rosanna’s Survivor Story
Rosanna Silber was 31, finishing a doctorate in nursing and planning her wedding, when she noticed a pea-sized lump in her left breast. A local doctor thought it was likely a benign cyst, but Rosanna knew her body and pushed for more testing after returning…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Michelle’s Survivor Story
Michelle Kang was 27 and thriving in a cancer-care administration career when she felt a lump in her right breast during a trip to South Korea. Doctors there seemed unconcerned, but Michelle trusted her instincts and arranged testing back in New York. Imaging…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Tamara’s Patient Story
Tamara Mitchell had already faced other cancers when a routine mammogram in 2019 led to a diagnosis of Stage I breast cancer. She underwent a partial lumpectomy and then received radiation to her left breast. Her breast cancer diagnosis became part of a…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jen’s Survivor Story
Jen was 55 when an annual mammogram found calcifications in her right breast. Because she had dense breasts, follow-up included a contrast mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. The first diagnosis was ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS. Based on that result, Jen…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Dina’s Patient Story
Dina was preparing for her wedding to Caleb when she felt a lump in her breast and contacted her doctor. The workup moved quickly through several tests, and biopsy confirmed Stage I ER/PR-positive breast cancer. Dina learned the diagnosis on the same day as…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Rachel’s Patient Story
Rachel’s Stage IB breast cancer was found after she delayed a routine mammogram for about 6 months. She had no symptoms, but 3D mammography showed a suspicious spot in the right breast. Ultrasound confirmed the finding, and biopsy showed infiltrating ductal…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Amelia’s Patient Story
Amelia was 40 when Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma was diagnosed. Her cancer was ER-positive, PR-positive, and HER2-negative. She first had an outpatient lumpectomy, but soon learned more surgery would be needed. Because she had a history of breast growths…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Erica’s Survivor Story
Erica was 46 when a routine mammogram changed the course of her life. She had delayed screening in her early 40s because of procedural anxiety, but after encouragement from her doctor and a close friend, she began annual mammograms. Her 2022, 2023, and 2024…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Tammy’s Survivor Story
Tammy McDevitt had years of normal mammograms, even though repeated letters warned that dense breast tissue could make cancer harder to detect. In September 2024, her annual screening mammogram at Cleveland Clinic found a subtle abnormality. Follow-up…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Angela’s Patient Story
Angela George was 42 when family history led her to take a closer look at her cancer risk. Her father had recently been diagnosed with colon cancer, and several relatives had also had cancer, including her mother and grandmother with breast cancer. In July…
Read this storyStage I Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Melissa’s Survivor Story
Melissa Eppard is a Stage I triple-negative breast cancer survivor whose story focuses on reclaiming comfort, pleasure, and confidence after cancer. As a cancer thriver, coach, and co-founder of Upstate Mary, she speaks openly about intimacy concerns that…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Krista’s Patient Story
Krista’s breast cancer journey began with her mother’s history. Her mother had breast cancer twice and later learned she carried a pathogenic ATM mutation. After her mother died, Krista chose genetic testing and found that she carried the same mutation…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Mandy’s Patient Story
Mandy was 44 and raising 2 children when a routine mammogram in April 2024 led to more imaging. She had recently lost about 30 pounds, so she was not alarmed when she was called back for a diagnostic mammogram on May 28. After several rounds of images, the…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Janelle’s Patient Story
Janelle was 41 and living near Baltimore when a routine mammogram in May 2024 showed increased calcifications in her right breast. She had known about a right-breast lump since age 17, when ultrasound called it a benign cyst, and she had started mammograms…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jessica’s Patient Story
Jessica, a pediatrician in Houston, was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma at 43. In early 2024, she had menstrual changes and left nipple pain, and her primary care doctor ordered blood work, a mammogram, and diagnostic ultrasound. A March 25…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Allison’s Survivor Story
Allison Tierney is an oncology dietitian and breast cancer survivor who shared her experience with cold capping during treatment for Stage IA triple-positive breast cancer. The video focused less on diagnosis and more on how she managed chemotherapy-related…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Judith’s Survivor Story
Judith had a strong family history of breast cancer, including grandmothers, her mother, and her 21-year-old daughter. As a biologist, she was careful about diet, exercise, time outdoors, spiritual practice, and stress, and she knew that dense breasts could…
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 I Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Melissa’s Survivor Story
Melissa Berry was 42 when routine high-risk screening found Stage I triple-negative breast cancer. Breast cancer ran strongly on her mother’s side, and Melissa had learned she carried a BRCA mutation. Because of that, she was being followed closely with MRI…
Read this storyStage I Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Melissa’s Survivor Story
Melissa Berry learned she carried a BRCA gene alteration at age 32 after several women on her mother’s side of the family developed breast cancer. The result initially frightened her, but it also led to intensive screening with MRI, mammography and ultrasound…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Carol’s Survivor Story
Carol was 70 when she was diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer in July 2022. The cancer was stage 1A and was found early, but the tumor itself could not be felt and was not visible on the mammogram. Calcifications in the same area helped draw…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Toni’s Patient Story
Toni’s breast cancer journey began less than a year before she shared her story, when a new breast lump with occasional sharp pain led her family doctor to recommend a mammogram. The results showed Stage I breast cancer. Toni felt frightened, worried, sad…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Lauren’s Patient Story
Lauren's stage 1 breast cancer was found through a company health screening after a mammogram showed a breast mass. She had not noticed symptoms before the screening. After diagnosis, she changed her diet, began eating more healthfully, and exercised more…
Read this storyStage I Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Tracy’s Patient Story
Tracy was diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer after a routine mammogram found the disease before she had noticed any symptoms. She later identified her diagnosis as triple-negative breast cancer. The news initially left her feeling relatively neutral, but…
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