HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Susan's Survivor Story

What happened, in summary

Susan was 72 when she shared a breast cancer history spanning more than 20 years. Her first diagnosis began when she was 50 and her husband, a physician, felt a hard pea-sized lump in her left breast. A fine needle aspiration incorrectly came back negative. After the lump was surgically removed as if it were benign, pathology showed breast cancer. Susan went to MD Anderson, where surgeons performed a lumpectomy/re-excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy. Five lymph nodes were removed and all were negative. Her oncologist recommended chemotherapy and radiation. She received 6 IV chemotherapy treatments every 3 weeks; the exact regimen was not fully clear, though Adriamycin was discussed. Radiation followed for 6.5 weeks. Susan continued follow-up mammograms and eventually celebrated 10 years cancer-free. In 2021, after a Parkinson’s diagnosis years earlier, she noticed a nipple change. Same-day mammogram and biopsy found a completely different breast cancer that was estrogen-positive and progesterone-positive. Because the tumor was under the nipple, she chose bilateral mastectomy with aesthetic flat closure and no reconstruction. Pathology also found another different cancer in the right breast that the mammogram had not shown. As of August 2023, Susan was in survivorship after multiple breast cancers and was still adjusting to the physical and emotional impact of surgery.