HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Annette's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

Annette La Fontaine was diagnosed with ductal breast cancer in 2021 after finding a lump while showering. She had been through years of intense stress, including family illness, separation, and the pressures of COVID, and she describes reaching diagnosis already emotionally exhausted. Her cancer was estrogen- and progesterone-positive and HER2-negative. A formal stage was not given. Annette was treated through Scripps and had support from a care navigator, but she still found the treatment decisions overwhelming. She made a flowchart to compare options, ranging from doing nothing to a radical bilateral mastectomy. Because she was postmenopausal, had already had her children, and wanted the best chance of survival, she chose a skin-sparing bilateral mastectomy, followed by 2 reconstruction surgeries and an implant. The emotional part was as hard as the physical treatment. A relationship ended after her diagnosis, leaving her feeling defective and unlovable just as she was facing breast removal and scars. Her children and close friends helped carry her through surgery and recovery. As of January 2023, Annette was taking a daily aromatase inhibitor to reduce recurrence risk and described reclaiming her body, her confidence, and her sense of being loved. Her story is mainly a survivorship and body-image recovery story rather than a detailed chemotherapy or radiation timeline.