Stage I HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Tammy's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

Tammy was first diagnosed with Stage 0 DCIS, or ductal carcinoma in situ. After surgery, her pathology report found a second tumor: Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma. She had already undergone a double mastectomy and was waiting for one final test result when her oncologist called earlier than expected on May 22, 2017. The result showed HER2-positive disease. Tammy explained that this made the cancer triple-positive and changed the treatment plan dramatically. Instead of being finished after surgery, she was told she needed 12 weeks of chemotherapy followed by 1 year of immunotherapy injections every 3 weeks. The chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs are not named. Tammy’s first question was whether she would lose her hair. When the answer was yes, she began to cry. She was only 3 weeks out from her double mastectomy, and the news felt overwhelming. Her oncologist encouraged second and third opinions because she was confident in the recommendation; those opinions supported the same plan. As of the September 2021 video, this part of Tammy’s story ended with her facing the start of chemotherapy and a year-long treatment plan after HER2-positive, triple-positive Stage I invasive breast cancer. She remembered her cousins being in the house that day, making the news feel even more immediate and impossible to absorb.