What happened, in summary

Mary Richichi was 79 at the time of the story and had been treated for breast cancer years earlier. A routine mammogram found a tumor in the duct of her left breast in July 2009, during a stressful period when she and her husband were preparing to move closer to their daughters. Mary received four rounds of chemotherapy in New York before moving to the Boston area. Dana-Farber then continued her breast cancer care with radiation. After radiation, she began a five-year course of letrozole because her breast cancer was hormone receptor-positive. She tolerated the hormone therapy well, and her breast cancer was later described as under control and in remission. Mary subsequently developed several separate health problems, including hepatitis C, myelodysplastic syndrome, and gastrointestinal bleeding. Those conditions required their own treatments and are not part of her breast cancer treatment pathway. With ongoing management of those health issues, her energy and quality of life improved. She remained active, attended family events, watched her grandchildren compete in sports, traveled, and celebrated being able to do things that had once felt out of reach.