Stage III HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Caroline's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

Caroline McNally was 30 when a lump under her arm and breast changed quickly enough to make her push for urgent evaluation. Within 3 days, the skin around the lump looked grey and bruised, and she knew it was more than something harmless. Her gynecologist helped move up testing, and within 4 weeks of first noticing the mass, Caroline had a treatment plan for Stage III breast cancer. Treatment started with dose-dense AC chemotherapy, using Adriamycin and Cytoxan. Side effects were rough: mouth sores, migraines, infections, and severe bone pain from Neulasta injections to support her white blood cell count. By February 2026, she had moved on to Taxol, which she found easier than AC. Her cancer also had a hormone-positive component, and the sudden menopause, fertility loss, sleep disruption, hot flashes, and body changes became part of the experience. The next planned steps were a double mastectomy in the spring, likely followed by radiation and hormone therapy. Caroline was still in the middle of treatment, but she wrote with confidence that the road ahead could end well and with urgency about young women being taken seriously.