Breast Cancer: Michelle's Survivor Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Sex
- female
- Treatment
- chemotherapy and targeted therapy
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / NED
Treatment course, step by step
- Received 6 rounds of chemotherapy after her June 2015 breast cancer diagnosis.
- Received 17 rounds of targeted therapy.
What happened, in summary
Michelle Hines was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2015 and received 6 rounds of chemotherapy followed by 17 rounds of targeted therapy. Treatment could be difficult even with strong anti-nausea medication, and some days she felt too sick to move comfortably.
Quilting gave Michelle something concrete to focus on. Through an online quilting community, she joined mini-quilt swaps that were manageable even when treatment left her tired or nauseated. The projects encouraged her to get up, move around and think about something other than cancer.
By November 2015, Michelle was cancer-free. She later turned quilting into a way to give back to MD Anderson by creating a quilt for the Ovarian Cancer Quilt Project auction, which raises money for ovarian cancer research. Although Michelle herself had never had ovarian cancer, she saw the project as a way to support the institution that had cared for her. Her story centers on finding a creative outlet during treatment and using survivorship as an opportunity to help others.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by MD Anderson. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer