Breast Cancer: Sharon's Survivor Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- surgery, chemotherapy and radiation
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / NED
Treatment course, step by step
- Sharon underwent mastectomy after her October 1999 diagnosis.
- A local recurrence 4 years later was treated in 2003 with surgery to remove the tumor, 6 months of chemotherapy, and radiation.
What happened, in summary
Sharon Kovach grew up with breast cancer in her family: her grandmother and mother had both been diagnosed, and her mother died from the disease at age 56. An abnormal mammogram led to Sharon’s own diagnosis in October 1999, 1 month after her 40th birthday. She had no symptoms and chose a mastectomy.
Four years later, Sharon felt a lump during a breast self-exam. A biopsy confirmed that the cancer had returned. In 2003, she underwent surgery to remove the recurrent tumor, followed by 6 months of chemotherapy and radiation. By age 63, she had remained in remission since that second course of treatment.
The family history also led Sharon’s daughter, Michelle, to pursue BRCA testing and long-term high-risk screening. Michelle did not develop cancer and later chose a preventive double mastectomy. Mother and daughter shared their experiences to encourage other families to know their history, attend screening, and discuss prevention and early detection with their clinicians.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Cleveland Clinic. 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