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Cancer Stories
Search by cancer type, stage, biomarker or treatment to find people who've been exactly where you are.
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Genevieve first found breast cancer in 1987, at age 40, after noticing a small hard lump in her right breast. Surgery removed the tumor and lymph nodes while preserving the breast, and pathology showed an aggressive non-hormone-receptive cancer. She received radiation, then monthly chemotherapy, and after 5 years was declared in remission. She stayed in remission for 30 years. In 2017, routine imaging in France found a new tumor in the same breast. This time she needed the entire right breast removed and chose dorsal-flap reconstruction. The tumor was hormone-receptive, so she started letrozole and later had reconstruction refinements, including nipple tattooing and reduction of the left breast. In late 2021, she became worried about hard nodules in the reconstructed breast. A biopsy confirmed cancer, and surgery took place at the end of March 2022. A port was placed, and she received weekly Taxol for about 4 months, stopping after 15 doses because of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. She also received Perjeta and Herceptin, then switched to Phesgo injections from October 2022 onward. She continued hormone-blocking therapy, including letrozole and later anastrozole. As of May 2025, PET scans every 3-4 months had remained clear, and she described herself as in remission again.
This is a lay summary of an account first published by breastcancer.org. Read the original in full
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