Stage IV HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Renee's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- HER2-positive
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Brain
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, antibody therapy and targeted therapy
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Initial Stage III breast cancer
- 4 rounds AC chemotherapy, stated as Adriamycin and carboplatin, with hospitalizations and dose reduction for round 4
- 4 rounds Taxol
- bilateral mastectomy in late January after tumor did not shrink enough for lumpectomy
- 25 radiation sessions over 5 weeks beginning in April
- Herceptin started during Taxol and continued for 18 infusions total, with NED declared after surgery and treatment finished 31 December 2018
- metastatic relapse with brain metastasis after headaches/dizziness
- brain radiation, 5 treatments
- Taxol again, then Herceptin and Perjeta
- Kadcyla every 3 weeks, paused briefly for neuropathy, then resumed; scans every 2 months, stable in December 2019 and early March 2020.
What happened, in summary
Renee first found a hard, painful breast area after playing with her children. Her family doctor quickly suspected breast cancer, and testing showed Stage III disease. The first plan was chemotherapy before surgery, with the hope that she might be able to have a lumpectomy. Renee received 4 rounds of AC chemotherapy, described as Adriamycin and carboplatin, with hospitalizations and a dose reduction by the 4th round. She then had 4 rounds of Taxol. After scans showed the cancer had not shrunk enough for lumpectomy, she chose a bilateral mastectomy at the end of January. Radiation followed in April: 25 sessions over 5 weeks. Herceptin had started during Taxol and continued for 18 total infusions. After surgery, Renee was told she had no evidence of disease and finished treatment on December 31, 2018. Two months later, persistent headaches led to scans showing metastatic relapse in the brain. The brain disease was inoperable, so she had 5 radiation treatments, then more Taxol, followed by Herceptin and Perjeta. Because her oncologist wanted treatment that could better address brain disease, she moved to Kadcyla every 3 weeks. As of June 2026, Renee was sharing life with metastatic breast cancer as a chronic illness, with stable scans reported in late 2019 and early 2020.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by The Patient Story. 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