Stage III Breast Cancer: Madeleine's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage III
- Treatment
- hormone therapy
- Outcome
- Care Ongoing
Treatment course, step by step
- Chemotherapy was recommended.
- Radiation therapy was recommended.
- Hormone therapy was ongoing.
- Traditional Chinese medicine was used as an alternative treatment.
What happened, in summary
Madeleine found a fairly large lump in her right breast and arranged an ultrasound because cancer had affected other members of her family. She was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Her doctors recommended chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy, and she remained on hormone therapy. She also pursued traditional Chinese medicine, although paying for alternative treatment was difficult. Fatigue, hair loss, and hand-foot syndrome were the treatment effects that troubled her most. Despite these challenges, Madeleine described feeling relieved, motivated, and hopeful after making treatment decisions. She continued spending time with her children and partner and took regular family trips. Looking ahead, she wanted to travel, move house, grow the family business, and see her daughter become successful and financially secure. Rather than centering her life on test results, Madeleine tried to enjoy each day and live as well as possible. She worried about future pain but encouraged others not to despair and to value each moment of life.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Our Cancer Stories. 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