Surgery for Breast Cancer: 559 Real Stories
559 stories match breast cancer and surgery. 392 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Kristine’s Patient Story
Kristine Bishop first noticed a slightly painful breast lump in 2008. It was a fibroadenoma, a noncancerous tumor, and it was removed. A year later, her mother pushed her to keep a follow-up mammogram appointment. That mammogram showed a tiny starburst-like…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine Hodgdon was 34, active, and training for a triathlon when she was diagnosed with aggressive metastatic breast cancer. The cancer was HER2-positive. She had no family history of breast cancer and described the diagnosis as a complete shock. Her…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA2 Breast Cancer: Lisa’s Patient Story
Lisa Quinn was 36 when she found a hard knot in her right breast after experiencing stabbing pain. Mammography, ultrasound, and biopsy confirmed breast cancer involving lymph nodes. MRI and PET imaging showed 7 tumors in the right breast and cancer in 5 bone…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine Cosby was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in March 2018 after finding a lump in her right breast. Before treatment began, she joined a pilot study of exercise-based prehabilitation, giving her a practical way to build strength during the 2…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Eva’s Patient Story
Eva Joseph’s breast cancer journey began in March 2002, when a mammogram found two areas in her left breast. She first had a lumpectomy, but cancer remained at the margins, so she underwent a mastectomy. Cancer was also found in the sentinel lymph node…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Kirby’s Patient Story
Kirby Lewis first felt a breast lump after months of coughing and was initially told that men do not get breast cancer. After transferring his care to a VA hospital, an open biopsy confirmed ER-positive, PR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. He was…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Ximena’s Patient Story
Ximena Nardelli, a Colombian woman living in the United States, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 40. She had been careful about yearly breast screening because her sister had breast cancer, but she did not initially feel a breast lump. Before a 2018 trip…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Dan’s Patient Story
Dan DiNardo was 49 when he was diagnosed with advanced male breast cancer in 2015. He had first noticed a breast lump, but after a mammogram he was told to return if it changed. For nearly a year, the lump grew. Bleeding and skin changes finally pushed him to…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Constance’s Survivor Story
Constance Porter was treated for breast cancer and became cancer-free, but some effects of treatment lasted far longer than she expected. She lost her hair during chemotherapy and was often told not to worry because it would grow back. Instead, she developed…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Marese’s Survivor Story
Marese was referred to a breast specialist and diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. The news left her feeling numb, helpless, vulnerable, isolated, and worried about the future. She changed to a hospital closer to home, consulted a second oncologist…
Read this storyStage I BRCA Breast Cancer Patient Story
N had no breast symptoms when her family doctor recommended mammography after menopause. Her mother had experienced breast cancer, although N reported no inherited BRCA finding. Extra mammogram images and an urgent ultrasound led to a direct diagnosis of…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Susanna’s Patient Story
Susanna sought medical attention after noticing a swollen breast and was diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer. The diagnosis came as a shock and brought fear, helplessness, worry and confusion about what might happen next. Her doctor recommended…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Catherine’s Survivor Story
Catherine, 55, was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2020 after finding a lump. Cancer had already affected her family, including an aunt, uncle, and grandfather, so the diagnosis brought intense fear. Her doctor told her the estimated 5-year survival…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Cherie’s Survivor Story
Cherie was 64 when her family doctor advised her to have a mammogram because of her age. She had also been experiencing breast pain. Testing led to a stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis. The treatment decisions made her feel motivated, although she remained…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Jaidive’s Survivor Story
Jaidive was 44 when she was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2020. She had lost both her maternal grandmother and mother to cancer, so finding a suspicious breast mass through self-examination was frightening. A breast cancer specialist confirmed the…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Cindy’s Survivor Story
Cindy was 45 when redness and flaky skin on her breast made her feel that something was not normal. At her annual mammogram, doctors found a small mass, and her gynecologist confirmed stage 1 breast cancer. She was frightened and worried about what the…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Serena’s Patient Story
Serena had no suspicious symptoms when a mammogram detected her cancer. She went on to have breast-conserving surgery with a lumpectomy, lymph node removal and radiation therapy, following her doctor’s recommendation. She is now undergoing hormone therapy…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Audrey’s Patient Story
Audrey, 66, had a strong family history of cancer: her mother had breast cancer, her sister had endometrial cancer, and her father had prostate cancer. She had previously undergone a left-breast quadrantectomy in 2010, with milk ducts removed to prevent…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Laura’s Survivor Story
Laura's breast cancer journey began after she experienced sharp pain in her right breast and nipple discharge. The diagnosis brought intense uncertainty, including fear of dying and fear of how treatment would affect her. Her care included surgery to remove…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Alexandria’s Patient Story
Alexandria was 27 when she felt a hard breast lump in the shower. The ultrasound happened the day after her birthday, and the biopsy found abnormal cells that led to a breast cancer diagnosis. She waited to tell her parents until the diagnosis was clearer…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Natalia’s Patient Story
Natalia Padron’s breast cancer was found after she noticed that something looked different in her breasts and sought routine breast imaging. The report was highly suspicious, and she was referred to a surgeon. She had a family history of breast cancer through…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Vanessa’s Survivor Story
Vanessa Sanders had worked at MD Anderson for less than 1 year when she became a patient herself. She had felt a small lump in her left breast for years, but it had not bothered her. Then sharp chest pains began, sometimes so intense that they felt like labor…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Janet’s Survivor Story
Janet Klein expected breast cancer might eventually affect her because both her mother and sister had been diagnosed. Careful mammogram surveillance helped catch her first breast cancer at Stage 1, before it had spread. There was no lymph-node involvement…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Suzanne’s Patient Story
Suzanne Kulliver had only just completed treatment for colon cancer when a routine annual mammogram in December 2015 led to another major diagnosis. Her doctor requested an ultrasound and biopsy, and Suzanne learned that she had breast cancer. The tumor was…
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