What happened, in summary

Lucinda Rudolph was 68 when an annual breast cancer screening in April 2020 led to a frightening local assessment. She had been treated for breast cancer 10 years earlier with lumpectomy and radiation, and this new cancer was initially described as metastatic, with suspected spread to her heart and ribs. She was told surgery was not an option and was given little hope. Her son encouraged her to seek care at MD Anderson. Testing there changed the picture: the cancer had not spread to her heart, and she did not have metastatic breast cancer. Instead, she had locally advanced recurrent breast cancer. Pathology showed invasive lobular carcinoma. Lucinda’s treatment plan included 16 rounds of chemotherapy, which she completed near home in Louisville: 12 rounds of paclitaxel followed by 4 rounds of doxorubicin hydrochloride and cyclophosphamide to shrink the tumors. She finished chemotherapy in November 2020. On December 8, 2020, she had a total mastectomy with complex wound closure. Her surgeon later explained that what had looked like cancer on the ribs and heart was actually scar tissue from prior radiation. After surgery, Lucinda started exemestane to reduce recurrence risk. As of June 2023, she had returned to travel and retirement life, continued every-6-month checkups at MD Anderson, and received supportive care for neuropathy in her hands.