Stage IV Breast Cancer: Erica's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

Erica was 41, active, and working as a P.E. teacher when breast cancer became part of her daily life again. Her first diagnosis was Stage I hormone-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. She completed chemotherapy in February 2025 and had a double mastectomy, followed later by exchange surgery. After she returned to working out, she developed shoulder blade and hip pain that she first blamed on exercise. The pain came and went for months, then became severe enough to send her to the emergency room. CT scans, MRIs, and a biopsy confirmed Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. The cancer had spread to several bones, including her ribs, sternum, spine, femur/right hip area, and shoulder blade. One rib had broken from lesions, and a hip lesion near the femoral head made walking so painful that she sometimes needed crutches. Radiation helped significantly; her radiologist planned 4 sessions, and the pain improved enough for her to teach and move more normally. Erica was started on letrozole with another oral medicine whose name was unclear, but the combination was stopped when her blood counts dropped. As of April 2026, she was stable and continuing monthly hormone-suppressant injections every 28 days, with blood work monitoring, while adapting exercise, work, parenting, and coaching to life with metastatic breast cancer.