Surgery for Breast Cancer: 559 Real Stories
559 stories match breast cancer and surgery. 392 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage II Breast Cancer: Renée’s Survivor Story
Renée had already survived acute myeloid leukemia and a bone marrow transplant when she noticed a change in the shape of her left breast at age 35. A dimple appeared, her nipple flattened, and urgent imaging and biopsies found stage 2 breast cancer involving…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy’s Survivor Story
Lucy found a breast lump at 23, months after learning that she carried a germline BRCA1 mutation. Several clinicians thought the area felt like fibrous tissue, but because of her inherited risk she continued with imaging and biopsy. Three days after her 24th…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Wendi’s Survivor Story
During a September bicycling trip, an unnamed patient felt a sudden stabbing pain in the right breast. A biopsy of the painful lump showed Stage II, high-grade, triple-positive breast cancer. The diagnosis was unexpected despite annual mammograms and a…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jen’s Survivor Story
Jen was 55 when an annual mammogram found calcifications in her right breast. Because she had dense breasts, follow-up included a contrast mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. The first diagnosis was ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS. Based on that result, Jen…
Read this storyInvasive Ductal Carcinoma: Shelby’s Patient Story
Shelby was 34 and 15 weeks pregnant as a first-time surrogate when she felt a sudden lump in her armpit. At first, she thought it might be related to IVF hormones or pregnancy changes. An ultrasound and biopsy instead showed invasive ductal carcinoma, forcing…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Kim’s Survivor Story
Kim Rumpf's triple-negative breast cancer story moved her from nurse and military veteran into the role of patient. Her diagnosis brought both medical urgency and deeply personal decisions, especially around fertility and family planning. Treatment included…
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 I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Rachel’s Patient Story
Rachel’s Stage IB breast cancer was found after she delayed a routine mammogram for about 6 months. She had no symptoms, but 3D mammography showed a suspicious spot in the right breast. Ultrasound confirmed the finding, and biopsy showed infiltrating ductal…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret’s Stage II breast cancer involved both invasive ductal carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ. She first noticed left-breast pain and an inverted nipple. Mammogram and biopsy led to diagnosis, followed by rapid decisions about surgery, scans…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Bethany’s Patient Story
Bethany was 33 when a breast lump she had watched for months became impossible to dismiss. Earlier breast lumps in her 20s had turned out to be cysts or swollen lymph nodes, and she had dense breast tissue, so she first assumed this one was benign too. The…
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 0 HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Natalie’s Survivor Story
Natalie found a lump in her right breast after nursing her third child. Mammogram and ultrasound did not explain what she could still feel, so she pushed for a specialist. After 6 months of watching the area, she had a lumpectomy, and pathology showed Stage 0…
Read this storyStage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Stephanie’s Survivor Story
Stephanie found a small lump in her left breast while self-employed and uninsured. Because she could not ignore the possibility of cancer, she researched options and was connected with the Bridge Breast Network, which helps uninsured and underinsured women in…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Doreen’s Patient Story
Doreen was diagnosed with Stage IIA triple-positive invasive ductal breast cancer after finding a lump in her left breast during a work trip. Getting the right imaging took persistence: after several calls and one wrong order, she finally had the correct…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Callie’s Survivor Story
Callie was 38 when she noticed dimpling and a bulge in her breast. Her husband urged her to take it seriously, and her primary care doctor quickly arranged a mammogram and ultrasound. The radiologist told her the mammogram was BI-RADS 5, highly suspicious for…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Tina’s Patient Story
Tina was 37 when she noticed that her right nipple had become sunken. Because her mother had breast cancer twice, she took the change seriously and saw her OB-GYN. A mammogram first seemed routine, but a call-back led to more imaging, ultrasound, and biopsy…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Breast Cancer: Joy’s Survivor Story
Joy began checking her breasts after a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, and that habit helped her notice a lump. A private clinic performed ultrasound, mammogram, and biopsy, and the doctor was confident it was breast cancer even before the biopsy…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Monica’s Survivor Story
Monica was 36 when she felt a firm knot in her breast while working on shoulder strength after unrelated injuries. Imaging quickly raised concern, and a surgical biopsy led to a Stage IIB breast cancer diagnosis on November 2. Her doctors wanted chemotherapy…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Rach’s Patient Story
Rach D. was 27 when she noticed a change in her right breast during her honeymoon. At first, she was unsure whether the lump had always been there. A January physical exam became the turning point: her doctor felt 3 masses and sent her for ultrasound. The…
Read this storyBRCA2 Breast Cancer: Erika’s Patient Story
Erika was in college when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time and tested positive for a BRCA2 mutation. Years later, as Erika approached the age her mother had been at her first breast cancer diagnosis, she met with a genetic…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Andrea’s Survivor Story
Andrea was pregnant and around 30 weeks along when she mentioned a divot in her breast at an OB-GYN visit. A same-day breast center evaluation led to biopsy of both the breast and lymph nodes, and she soon learned she had breast cancer. Her story describes…
Read this storyStage III HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Genoa’s Survivor Story
Genoa was living the life she wanted when a subtle but persistent feeling of nausea made her think something was wrong. She was already due for a mammogram, and her OB-GYN also ordered a breast MRI because of her family history of breast cancer. The MRI…
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 I HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Amelia’s Patient Story
Amelia was 40 when Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma was diagnosed. Her cancer was ER-positive, PR-positive, and HER2-negative. She first had an outpatient lumpectomy, but soon learned more surgery would be needed. Because she had a history of breast growths…
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