Surgery for Breast Cancer: 559 Real Stories
559 stories match breast cancer and surgery. 392 of them mention chemotherapy.
Breast Cancer: Linda’s Patient Story
Linda’s breast cancer was found after a routine health check led her doctor to recommend an appointment with a breast specialist. A biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. She had not noticed any symptoms, and the result surprised her because she considered herself…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Doranci’s Survivor Story
Doranci sought medical attention after finding a painful breast lump that continued to grow and noticing changes in the size and shape of her breast. Her treatment included a mastectomy, lymphadenectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Aishah’s Survivor Story
Aishah was 51 when she accepted a free mammogram offered through her workplace. The test unexpectedly found a breast lump, and her GP referred her to hospital. She was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer and also experienced irritation of the breast skin…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Barsha’s Survivor Story
Barsha was 69 when she felt a suspicious lump in her left breast during an oil massage. She sensed that something was wrong and sought medical assessment. After being diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, she obtained a second opinion from a more experienced…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Camila’s Survivor Story
Camila was 43 when she felt a breast lump while breastfeeding. Her gynecologist initially thought it might be caused by clogged milk ducts, but further testing showed stage 2 breast cancer. The diagnosis left her nervous, worried and powerless, especially as…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Cheryl’s Survivor Story
Cheryl was 66 and had no symptoms when a mammogram unexpectedly found an abnormality. Further assessment at a breast clinic confirmed stage 1 breast cancer. The news left her withdrawn, disappointed and confused, even though the cancer had been found early…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Ericka’s Survivor Story
Ericka was 41 and had considered herself completely healthy when breast cancer interrupted her life. Treatment included chemotherapy and radiation, and she also faced the loss of one breast. When active treatment ended, the emotional impact became especially…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Susan’s Patient Story
Susan had continued annual breast examinations and mammograms because of dense breasts. A July mammogram was read as normal, but in October she felt a new lump in her left breast. A repeat 3-D mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy found invasive ductal carcinoma…
Read this storyStage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Anne’s Survivor Story
Anne was 11 weeks pregnant with her third child when she was diagnosed on June 11, 2022, with Stage III poorly differentiated metaplastic triple-negative breast cancer. She was building a career in pediatric surgery and expecting a son after two daughters…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Kattysmith’s Patient Story
Kattysmith was first diagnosed with borderline Stage I/II breast cancer in 2003, shortly before turning 51. She underwent lumpectomy with sentinel-node biopsy, which showed no spread, followed by radiation and tamoxifen. After years of follow-up, breast…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Naomi’s Patient Story
Naomi was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2024 while raising two children, ages six and eight. Chemotherapy caused rapid hair and weight loss, and she wore a wig because her children were frightened by how ill she looked. A mastectomy brought both…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Adriana’s Survivor Story
Adriana was 34 and living in Israel when she noticed a breast lump. As a doctor with a strong awareness of her family history, she recognized that the mammogram looked concerning. She flew to Brazil the next morning because she could obtain a biopsy more…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Ann’s Patient Story
Ann was diagnosed in February 2017 with two large ER-positive, HER2-negative invasive lobular cancers in her right breast. The tumors had not been felt and had not appeared on mammograms, and cancer was found in 17 lymph nodes. She underwent right mastectomy…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: Jenna’s Patient Story
Jenna was 34 and pregnant when she found a breast lump that she initially thought was a clogged milk duct. Ultrasound and an urgent biopsy confirmed breast cancer with spread to lymph nodes. A second opinion agreed that treatment needed to begin quickly…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Suzi’s Patient Story
Suzi found a painful lump in the lower part of her left breast during a self-check at the end of April 2024. She had long believed that painful lumps were unlikely to be cancer, but a mammogram, breast scan, and guided biopsy confirmed carcinoma. The…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Amy’s Patient Story
Amy was 48 when she noticed that her left nipple had become inverted. She had also been unusually tired, had sore breasts, and was experiencing severe back pain, but the nipple change was what prompted her to seek care. Her first mammogram was followed by…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Goodie16’s Survivor Story
Goodie16 found a lump in the left breast in April 2014. Mammography did not show the lump, but ultrasound and biopsy confirmed invasive ductal carcinoma. They underwent mastectomy, and the lymph nodes were clear. The cancer was staged as IA, the Oncotype DX…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Susan’s Survivor Story
Susan was 59 when a routine mammogram found breast cancer despite there being no lump or other warning sign. In the first days after diagnosis, she struggled to believe that cancer had entered her life so abruptly. Fear shaped how she thought about survival…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Yara’s Patient Story
Yara was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 after years of fearing the disease following an earlier benign lump. The diagnosis pushed her to make decisions she had postponed and to live more boldly, but daily life remained shaped by fear of recurrence, scan…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patient Story
This patient had regular breast screening every year, alternating mammography and ultrasound. One screening found a 1.5 cm breast tumor. She had not thought of herself as high risk: she exercised, felt healthy, and did not match the common risk factors she…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Regina’s Patient Story
Regina Ritter was 51 at the time of her interview and a mother of 4. Her breast cancer began in May 2008, when she was 47 and felt something painful and very large in her right breast. Further examinations found a tumor, and CT also showed a liver metastasis…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Leftfootforward’s Survivor Story
Leftfootforward was 37 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer in December 2010. Her treatment began with A/C chemotherapy and then Herceptin. She had a bilateral mastectomy, followed by 36 rounds of radiation. Herceptin continued for about 8…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Carol’s Survivor Story
Carol had only just turned 30 when she found out she had breast cancer. She wanted to have a baby, so one of her first fears was that cancer treatment might take away that possibility. Even with that worry, she knew treatment had to come first. Carol was…
Read this storyBRCA Breast Cancer: Susana’s Survivor Story
Susana, a preschool teacher, noticed a hollow or indentation in the lower part of her breast. Cancer was already familiar in her family, and she knew she carried a BRCA gene mutation. The diagnosis led to removal of both breasts. Surgery was difficult: the…
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