What happened, in summary

Kim moved back to San Antonio in 2022 and had her first mammogram in the new city that October. The previous year’s 3D mammogram had been unremarkable, but this time the radiologist wanted a biopsy for a concerning spot in the left breast. Kim had also felt something emerging, though she had blamed hormones and stress from a new job and city. After multiple imaging appointments and biopsies, she received the call on January 4 that pathology was positive for invasive lobular carcinoma. The tumor was about 7 cm and close to the nipple. Kim joined the LBCA Facebook group and began building a care team in San Antonio. In February, she started monthly Zoladex injections and daily Letrozole to suppress estrogen. Her tumor was 99% estrogen-positive, 85% progesterone-positive, and HER2-negative. She also had more biopsies to check whether cancer had spread elsewhere. On July 5, Kim had a skin-sparing mastectomy with an expander. Pathology showed the tumor was 90% dead by surgery, the remaining 10% was removed with clear margins, and the cancer had not spread to lymph nodes. As of May 2024, her doctor had confirmed she was cancer-free, and she described herself as a survivor. Her experience also highlights how endocrine treatment can be used before surgery in ER-positive ILC.