Stage IV Breast Cancer: Dan's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Sex
- Male
- Spread to
- Left femoral ball/hip; spine; lymph nodes; chest
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, hormone therapy and targeted therapy
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- 2015 diagnosis of advanced male breast cancer after growing breast lump, bleeding, and skin changes
- Completed 4 months of aggressive chemotherapy
- Full left mastectomy followed by 35 radiation treatments
- Took tamoxifen and was cancer-free for more than 2 years
- In 2018, hip pain led to metastatic recurrence in the hip, spine, lymph nodes, and chest
- Surgery performed soon after Cleveland Clinic evaluation
- Different hormone-blocking medicines plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor were used
- Radiation treated the hip; no evidence of cancer growth for 1 year.
What happened, in summary
Dan DiNardo was 49 when he was diagnosed with advanced male breast cancer in 2015. He had first noticed a breast lump, but after a mammogram he was told to return if it changed. For nearly a year, the lump grew. Bleeding and skin changes finally pushed him to seek more care, and scans and biopsy confirmed breast cancer. Dan had 4 months of aggressive chemotherapy, a full mastectomy of his left breast, 35 radiation treatments and hormonal treatment with tamoxifen. He remained cancer-free for more than 2 years. In 2018, hip pain after moving furniture led to a metastatic recurrence. The cancer had spread to the femoral ball in his left hip, with additional spots in the spine, lymph nodes and chest. Dan went to Cleveland Clinic for another opinion. His oncologist, Dr. Halle Moore, was especially concerned about the hip, and orthopedic oncologist Dr. Nathan Mesko evaluated him the same day. Within days, Dan had surgery. His team then started different hormone-blocking medications plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor and treated the hip with radiation. As of January 2020, his cancer had responded well, with no evidence of growth for the past year. He was expected to live with breast cancer and ongoing treatment long term.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Cleveland Clinic. 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