Stage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Paula's Survivor Story

What happened, in summary

Paula Jones was 43 when a routine mammogram in February 2010 found a small spot in her left breast that she could not feel and her doctor could not detect by exam. Because she had lost her mother to breast cancer at age 7, Paula had started screening in her mid-20s. After the mammogram, she had breast ultrasound, MRI and biopsy, which confirmed Stage IIIC triple-negative breast cancer. She came to MD Anderson in May 2010 and started treatment quickly. Paula enrolled in a clinical trial testing whether an additional oral drug could improve chemotherapy results, but she was randomized to the control arm and did not receive the extra medication. She completed 6 months of chemotherapy, then had a double mastectomy on November 3, 2010. Radiation therapy began in January 2011. Paula also learned she carried a BRCA1 mutation, which increases ovarian cancer risk, so she had a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes as a risk-reducing step. As of July 2025, Paula had remained cancer-free for more than 15 years. She had started an apprenticeship in January 2025 through MD Anderson’s Mammography Certificate Program, hoping to support other patients through the same type of careful screening that found her cancer.