Stage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Liz's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage III
- Subtype
- Invasive Lobular Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive; HER2-negative; PIK3CA mutation reported by patient
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, surgery, hormone therapy and targeted therapy
- Outcome
- Setback / Progression
Treatment course, step by step
- Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for Stage III mixed ductal and lobular breast cancer
- Mastectomy showed the ductal cancer responded, but 13 cm of lobular cancer remained
- Later had chest-wall recurrence and then a second local recurrence above the mastectomy scar
- Hormone blocker plus CDK inhibitor were discussed for lobular cancer care, but specific drug names were not clearly retained.
What happened, in summary
Dr. Liz O'Riordan, a breast surgeon, was diagnosed at 40 in 2015 with Stage III mixed ductal and lobular breast cancer. Her cancer was not seen on mammogram; it was found on ultrasound and MRI. She received chemotherapy first, and her final MRI appeared encouraging, but surgery showed why lobular disease can be difficult to measure. The ductal part had responded, yet her mastectomy still found 13 cm of lobular cancer in the breast. Her cancer was ER-positive and HER2-negative, and she later described having a PIK3CA mutation. About 3 years after the original diagnosis, Liz had a locoregional recurrence on the chest wall. Around 7 months before the June 2024 video, she had a second local recurrence above the mastectomy scar. Her story is also used to explain why invasive lobular breast cancer can be missed: it can grow in sheets rather than forming a clear lump, can be harder to see on mammogram or MRI, and is often ER-positive and HER2-negative. As of June 2024, Liz was living after repeated local recurrence, with no distant metastatic site described in her own case. She emphasized that this imaging gap was part of the reason lobular breast cancer can be confusing for both patients and clinicians.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by YouTube — Dr Liz O'Riordan. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer