Stage III Breast Cancer: Sol's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage III
- Treatment
- surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy
- Outcome
- Care Ongoing
Treatment course, step by step
- She underwent mastectomy.
- She received chemotherapy.
- She received radiation therapy.
- She started hormone therapy and remains on it.
- Her treatment plan was adjusted because of severe side effects.
What happened, in summary
Sol had a family history of cancer and sought testing while her sister was undergoing treatment. She was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer after also noticing lumps in her breast. Feeling that she had not received enough information at first, she sought a second opinion. The diagnosis left her worried, powerless and grieving, but she researched her options and decided to proceed with mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and hormone therapy. Severe treatment side effects later required an adjustment to her plan. Sol described becoming more hopeful, motivated and relieved after that change. Hair loss, hand-foot syndrome and lymphedema were among the side effects that affected her most, and she focused on improving her nutrition as part of coping with treatment. She is now in remission and continues hormone therapy. Family remains central to how she thinks about the future, and she hopes to travel with them. Looking back on the experience, Sol described maintaining faith and trying to live in the present rather than treating cancer as synonymous with death.
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