Stage III HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Sarah's Survivor Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage III
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive; PR-positive; HER2-negative
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, hormone therapy and fertility preservation
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / Long-Term Survivor
Treatment course, step by step
- Two chemotherapy regimens over about 6 months → lumpectomy followed by a second breast operation because the first margins were not clear → 6 weeks of breast radiation → planned 10 years of hormone therapy.
- About 2 years after cancer treatment, hormone therapy was paused with oncology approval for IVF using stored embryos.
What happened, in summary
Sarah McDonald was 44 when she was diagnosed with 2 unrelated cancers within 2 months. Surgery for a rare salivary gland cancer prompted her to re-examine a breast lump first noticed 6 years earlier. Annual mammograms had not shown a clear problem because she had dense breast tissue, and her gynecologist realized that an earlier biopsy scar was not near the lump itself. A new biopsy found stage 3 breast cancer that was estrogen- and progesterone-positive and HER2-negative.
For the breast cancer, Sarah received 2 types of chemotherapy over about 6 months. Chemotherapy reduced the tumor, allowing a lumpectomy, but a second operation was needed because the first margins were not clear. She then completed 6 weeks of breast radiation. Her mouth radiation for the separate salivary gland cancer overlapped with chemotherapy, making the first weeks especially difficult.
Sarah was expected to take hormone therapy for 10 years, which initially seemed to end plans for pregnancy. Two years after finishing cancer treatment, her oncologist discussed research supporting a temporary treatment pause for pregnancy. Sarah used stored embryos, became pregnant through IVF and gave birth to a daughter at age 48.
At the interview, Sarah was 10 years from diagnosis without a breast cancer recurrence. She had returned to work, written about her experience and become an advocate for open conversations about cancer and self-advocacy.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by The Patient Story. 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