Stage 4 Breast Cancer: 144 Real Stories
144 stories match breast cancer and stage 4. 91 of them mention surgery.
Stage IV HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Leanne’s Patient Story
Leanne was 55 and living on a horse farm in Nova Scotia when she described living with metastatic lobular breast cancer. She had one daughter, one grandson, and a life centered around writing and horses. Her brain metastasis changed that life, making it…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Beth’s Patient Story
Beth had recently turned 63 when she shared her experience with pleomorphic invasive lobular carcinoma. Her first diagnosis came in 2005, when she was in her early 40s and working in oncology drug sales. The cancer was Stage II pleomorphic ILC with lymph node…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Katie’s Patient Story
Katie was 56 and living south of London when she shared her experience with invasive lobular carcinoma. Her primary breast cancer had been diagnosed at 50 after mild pain in her right breast. A mammogram did not show the cancer, and the diagnosis was…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Robbie’s Patient Story
Robbie first faced breast cancer in early 2012 with Stage 0 DCIS. She then received a second, more serious diagnosis in mid-2013: Stage II estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer on the left side, with a very large tumor. Treatment included major surgery…
Read this storyHow Learning To Ask For Help Can Make Life With MBC Easier
An unnamed mother of 4 was 37 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer in December 2010. Her initial treatment included A/C followed by T/Herceptin, then a bilateral mastectomy and 36 radiation treatments. She stayed on Herceptin for about 8…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Amy’s Survivor Story
Amy Mannarino was first diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer in November 2014 after a routine mammogram. She had a lumpectomy at MSK Commack, then started tamoxifen because chemotherapy was not expected to work well for her type and stage of cancer. Tamoxifen…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Tiffany’s Patient Story
Tiffany Andrews was 35 when a lump in her right breast led to a diagnosis of Stage II breast cancer. Testing showed HER2-positive disease. She began treatment with 6 rounds of chemotherapy combined with HER2-targeted therapy, then underwent a mastectomy…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Alison’s Survivor Story
Alison was 34 and breastfeeding when she found a lump under her right arm. Biopsies confirmed triple-positive breast cancer in the breast and axillary lymph nodes. After HER2 testing returned equivocal 3 times, the final result guided a TCHP regimen…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Shari’s Patient Story
Shari found a breast lump in December 2015. A mammogram several months later led to a surgical lumpectomy because she had saline implants. The lump was breast cancer, and further staging showed that the triple-positive disease was already metastatic, making…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Betty’s Patient Story
Betty Jean had survived breast cancer in 2019, but a later episode of back pain changed the course of her life again. While on vacation, she developed pain that seemed like a bad back problem. Imaging instead revealed Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, with…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Janice’s Patient Story
Janice Cowden was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. Nearly 5 years later, she developed metastatic breast cancer and was told she had Stage IV disease. She was 33 when the diagnosis shattered her sense of the future. Biopsy was needed to confirm…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Erin’s Patient Story
Erin first noticed an ache near her left breast and armpit, then later saw dimpling in the skin. A mammogram was clear, but she pointed the ultrasound team to the exact area, and a biopsy led to breast cancer care. Surgery found that what had looked like a 9…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Abigail’s Patient Story
Abigail was 38, running a law firm, and parenting 2 young boys when she found a breast lump while tandem breastfeeding. She also looked back on back and leg pain that she later understood as bone metastases. Because her mother had a history of breast cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Bethany’s Patient Story
Bethany was 34 when she was first diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer. After treatment, she reached remission and was told she was cancer-free. She made major life changes afterward, including separating from her husband, moving to Colorado, and starting a…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Renee’s Patient Story
Renee first found a hard, painful breast area after playing with her children. Her family doctor quickly suspected breast cancer, and testing showed Stage III disease. The first plan was chemotherapy before surgery, with the hope that she might be able to…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Amy’s Patient Story
Amy had experienced back and hip pain since her early 30s. When it worsened in June 2022, she was told she was getting older. Four months later, she noticed an inverted nipple and immediately contacted her primary-care clinician. Mammography and ultrasound…
Read this storyMy Metastatic Breast Cancer Spread To My BRAIN!
The patient was 41, active in bodybuilding, and up to date on mammograms when she first noticed blood from her nipple rather than a breast lump. After the bleeding stopped, she was initially sent home. About 1 month later, she developed a large breast lump…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Gynna’s Patient Story
Gynna, who lives in Colombia, first noticed a small breast lump in 2017, but doctors were not initially worried. After she recovered from COVID-19 in January 2021, the lump felt different and much larger. Her doctor sent her for a biopsy, and 7 tissue samples…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was 22 when she noticed a breast lump in 2019. Because she was so young, doctors first considered causes such as a cyst or infection, but biopsy eventually confirmed breast cancer. Further testing found cancer in her rib and lymph nodes, making it…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA Breast Cancer: Maralee’s Survivor Story
Maralee Lellio was 28 when she noticed a breast lump in 2018. A first evaluation called it a benign fibroadenoma, but the lump grew and became painful. Further mammogram and biopsy showed Stage II breast cancer. Before treatment, Maralee and her husband froze…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Elissa’s Patient Story
Elissa Kalver was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer just before her daughter’s 1st birthday. The diagnosis brought the shock of Stage IV cancer together with the everyday responsibilities of caring for a very young child. One of the hardest parts was…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Joelle’s Patient Story
Joelle was 36 when she was diagnosed with Stage IV hormone-positive breast cancer. Some warning signs appeared around pregnancy and postpartum life: severe nausea during pregnancy, milk never coming in from the right breast, intermittent right nipple…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Erica’s Patient Story
Erica was 41, active, and working as a P.E. teacher when breast cancer became part of her daily life again. Her first diagnosis was Stage I hormone-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. She completed chemotherapy in February 2025 and had a double mastectomy…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Lauren’s Patient Story
Lauren Huffmaster has been living with metastatic breast cancer since 2015. In the 10 years after diagnosis, she turned part of that experience outward, founding Adventure Therapy Foundation, becoming a speaker and author, and helping other people with cancer…
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