Stage II HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan's Survivor Story

What happened, in summary

Megan-Claire Chase was diagnosed with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer after symptoms such as green bruises, brittle hair, sudden weight gain, and a left-breast mass. Her doctors later believed the cancer may have been growing for 8 to 10 years and had been missed on mammogram because of its size and pattern. Treatment began with 16 rounds of chemotherapy: 4 rounds of Red Devil/Adriamycin with Cytoxan, followed by 12 rounds of Taxol. She then had surgery and chose a lumpectomy. Radiation followed, with 33 rounds. About 3 months after active treatment, her scans were clear, and she began trying to adjust to survivorship. Because her lobular breast cancer was almost 100% estrogen-positive and also progesterone-positive, her team recommended recurrence-prevention treatment with Lupron and tamoxifen for 10 years. Megan-Claire had severe reactions. She later moved to a different oncologist, tried ovarian suppression, and ultimately had a hysterectomy plus bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, removing her uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries and putting her into surgical menopause. She eventually tried 6 different medications but could not tolerate them. Another surgery removed fat necrosis and a hematoma at the lumpectomy site, not recurrent cancer. As of July 2023, she was in survivorship while managing chronic pain, fatigue, chemo brain, surgical menopause, and major quality-of-life changes.