Stage 2 Breast Cancer: 138 Real Stories

138 stories match breast cancer and stage 2. 120 of them mention surgery.

  1. Stage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Sian’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · HER2 Positive · Chemotherapy · hysterectomy

    Before a routine mammogram in July 2012, Sian Bevans noticed a lump in her left breast. Ultrasound and biopsy confirmed that the lump was related to fibrocystic breast changes, but the mammogram also showed calcifications in her right breast. Sian delayed the…

    Read this story
  2. Stage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · ER Positive · Chemotherapy · Immunotherapy

    Jennifer Njathi’s breast cancer was found after her delayed 40th-birthday mammogram led to extra imaging in early 2023. At first, she thought the callback was routine for a first mammogram. When the repeat screening focused on one breast and the lymph nodes…

    Read this story
  3. Stage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · BRCA1 Mutation · Bone Modifying Agent · Chemotherapy

    Jennifer Rancik was 31 when chest pain she thought was a pulled muscle led to a Stage II triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis. Her doctor initially dismissed her request for mammography, but she insisted. Three days after biopsy, she was told to gather her…

    Read this story
  4. Stage II Breast Cancer: Basma’s Patient Story

    Stage 2 · Chemotherapy · lumpectomy

    Basma, a 44-year-old mother of 2, learned she had breast cancer after a mammogram showed concerning changes and a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. Her name was changed for privacy. She had no family history of breast cancer, and the news affected not only her…

    Read this story
  5. Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Charlotte’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · mastectomy · Radiation

    Charlotte was preparing to retire to a quiet cabin in northwestern Minnesota when breast cancer interrupted the plan. About 2 weeks before her 2024 annual mammogram, she felt pain in her right breast. She had long had an inflamed duct on the left side, so at…

    Read this story
  6. Stage II BRCA2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Onjalai’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · Chemotherapy · lumpectomy

    Onjalai Brown was 36 when she felt pain behind one nipple and then a lump about the size of a ping-pong ball. Her family history made the fear especially real: on her mother’s side, eight women had breast cancer and four men had prostate cancer, likely…

    Read this story
  7. Stage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Kelsey’s Patient Story

    Stage 2 · ER Positive · abemaciclib · AC-T

    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 story
  8. Stage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: LaShae’s Patient Story

    Stage 2 · ER Positive · Chemotherapy · goserelin

    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 story
  9. Stage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chance’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · BRCA1 Mutation · carboplatin · Chemotherapy

    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 story
  10. Stage II HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Karen’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · ER Positive · Chemotherapy · Hormone Therapy

    Karen moved from Seattle to Honolulu in July 2023 to lead an oncology service line. Two months later, at age 43, she found a breast lump despite having had a clear screening mammogram 9 months earlier. She had dense breast tissue and a family history of young…

    Read this story
  11. Stage II Breast Cancer: India’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · Chemotherapy · Radiation

    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 story
  12. Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Lauren’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · Chemotherapy · lumpectomy

    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 story
  13. Stage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Italia’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · BRCA Mutation · Chemotherapy · Immunotherapy

    Italia Russell was 30 when she found a breast lump in August 2023, 1 month after learning she carried a BRCA mutation that increased her lifetime breast cancer risk. Her mother had been treated 15 years earlier for Stage II triple-negative breast cancer and…

    Read this story
  14. Stage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Kelsey’s Patient Story

    Stage 2 · ER Positive · Chemotherapy · Hormone Therapy

    Kelsey Harrison was diagnosed with Stage II estrogen-positive breast cancer at age 27 after noticing a tender lump during a yoga session. Imaging showed a large tumor, about 5 cm, and abnormal lymph nodes. She had no known family history or genetic…

    Read this story
  15. Stage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Lizzie’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · Hormone Therapy · mastectomy

    In October 2020, Lizzie noticed an area in her right breast that felt similar to the dense tissue she had felt before, but this time it did not change with her monthly cycle. Her routine screening had been delayed during COVID, leaving 19 months between…

    Read this story
  16. Stage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Allison’s Patient Story

    Stage 2 · CHEK2 Mutation · Chemotherapy · Hormone Therapy

    Allison Tierney, an oncology dietitian in Wisconsin, found a breast lump shortly after finishing breastfeeding her 2nd child. Because she was only 10 days postpartum from nursing, the lump could have been a clogged duct, but it continued to worry her. Imaging…

    Read this story
  17. Stage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chance’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · BRCA1 Mutation · Chemotherapy · mastectomy

    Chance Osborne was 24 when she was diagnosed with Stage II triple-negative breast cancer, a diagnosis made more complicated by a family history of cancer and a BRCA1 mutation. Being young did not protect her from aggressive disease, and her story became a…

    Read this story
  18. Stage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dorian’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · ER Positive · Chemotherapy · Radiation

    Dorian de Salvo was active, working out 5 to 6 times a week, when she began gaining weight without a clear reason. One doctor dismissed her concerns, but another ran blood work that suggested something could be wrong. While traveling for work, Dorian found a…

    Read this story
  19. Stage II Breast Cancer: Paula’s Patient Story

    Stage 2 · Chemotherapy · Hormone Therapy

    Paula found a strange lump in her right breast and was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She had no other symptoms. The diagnosis was shocking and left her confused, worried, surprised, and vulnerable, although her doctor’s guidance also gave her some…

    Read this story
  20. Stage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chantal’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · BRCA1 Mutation · carboplatin · Chemotherapy

    Chantal was 24 and already knew she carried a BRCA1 mutation when she felt a sudden painful lump during a beach trip. Just 1 month earlier, her preventive MRI had looked normal. Because the lump was visible and clearly new, she sought testing quickly. Biopsy…

    Read this story
  21. Stage II HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · ER Positive · Chemotherapy · doxorubicin

    Megan-Claire Chase was diagnosed with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer after symptoms such as green bruises, brittle hair, sudden weight gain, and a left-breast mass. Her doctors later believed the cancer may have been growing for 8 to 10 years and had…

    Read this story
  22. Stage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan-Claire’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · Chemotherapy · doxorubicin

    Megan-Claire Chase was 39 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIA invasive lobular breast cancer. Years before diagnosis, she had a strong family history of cancer and was already watching her body closely. A preventive mammogram at 35 was read as clear, but…

    Read this story
  23. Stage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan-Claire’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · Chemotherapy · doxorubicin

    Megan-Claire, also known as Warrior Meg, expected cancer might come from the ovarian or cervical cancer patterns in her family. Instead, she was diagnosed with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer shortly after turning 39. Earlier, a preventive mammogram…

    Read this story
  24. Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Cynthia’s Survivor Story

    Stage 2 · mastectomy · Radiation

    Cynthia Jordan had normal mammograms for 13 years and no symptoms, even while a walnut-sized tumor was growing in her breast. She had dense breasts but had not been educated about what that meant or why supplemental screening could matter. In 2018, a…

    Read this story