Surgery for Breast Cancer: 559 Real Stories
559 stories match breast cancer and surgery. 392 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Kathleen’s Patient Story
Kathleen McEvoy-Schufreider was first diagnosed in 2011 with early-stage HER2-positive, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. She joined a clinical trial and received 16 weeks of paclitaxel with trastuzumab. After surgery, she received 4 doses of AC…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Masters was 63 when she described the long road through Stage IV HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. She first noticed a lump in her left breast in February 2016 but waited several months before seeing a doctor. After a diagnosis of HER2-positive…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Tanya’s Patient Story
Tanya was 44 when she was diagnosed in 2016 with Stage IIIA invasive lobular carcinoma in her left breast. She had noticed a painful lump for about 1 year, but her first concern was dismissed because she had no family history and was told breast cancer was…
Read this storyStage II BRCA2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Onjalai’s Survivor Story
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 storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren Yerkes turned her experience with triple-negative breast cancer into a practical mission for people trying to feel comfortable in swimwear after surgery. She was diagnosed at 38 and later founded POST SWIM after facing the gap between ordinary swimwear…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Honey’s Survivor Story
Honey Hilliard was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 after feeling a lump in the middle of the night. Her doctors told her the finding was serious enough that she could pursue more biopsy and radiation or choose a bilateral mastectomy. Honey wanted the…
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 IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was 22 when a breast lump, initially treated as an infection, was confirmed as cancer. Further imaging found a small rib lesion that shrank with chemotherapy, showing that the disease had already spread and making the diagnosis stage 4. She received…
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 storyStage 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 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 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 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 0 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Kathleen’s Survivor Story
Kathleen first lived with years of imaging follow-up for a small shadow in her left breast, then developed bloody nipple discharge. Biopsies and imaging did not clearly show invasive cancer, but DCIS became concerning enough that mastectomy was recommended…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Tia’s Patient Story
After breast cancer surgery, Tia developed significant stiffness in her left shoulder and swelling in her chest. The shoulder felt almost frozen, and after several unsuccessful attempts to find an explanation she learned that the symptoms could reflect early…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Erica’s Survivor Story
Erica Deligne's breast cancer experience led her to choose aesthetic flat closure instead of reconstruction. After surgery changed her body, she leaned into style as a way to rebuild confidence rather than hide what she had been through. Her work now centers…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Claudia’s Survivor Story
Claudia had a routine mammogram at 40 that came back clear, even though she was told she had extremely dense breast tissue. One year later, during a regular OB-GYN visit, her provider felt 2 lumps. Follow-up imaging and biopsy confirmed multifocal invasive…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Stephani’s Survivor Story
Stephani St. Cyr felt a long lump under her right arm while watching a movie at home. Her primary doctor suspected a cyst but referred her to a specialist. The breast cancer doctor immediately suspected cancer, and biopsy confirmed it. Further tests showed…
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 HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Karen’s Survivor Story
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 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…
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