What happened, in summary

Regina Ritter was 51 at the time of her interview and a mother of 4. Her breast cancer began in May 2008, when she was 47 and felt something painful and very large in her right breast. Further examinations found a tumor, and CT also showed a liver metastasis. The cancer was HER2-positive and already metastatic. Her doctors recommended palliative chemotherapy to maintain quality of life, and Regina was initially given a prognosis of about 9 months. Chemotherapy caused severe abdominal and leg pain, eventually helped by a morphine-like patch. After treatment, the breast tumor was no longer visible on ultrasound, and Regina tried to restart life, including beginning a new training program. Later, uneasiness led her to seek a second opinion. MRI showed lesions in the right breast, and she had the breast removed. In July 2011, a recurrence was found during follow-up. She then received adjuvant chemotherapy, tumor removal, and radiation. The following summer, after extreme exhaustion, CT showed an inoperable lung metastasis. At the 2013 interview, Regina was receiving chemotherapy in tablet form and living with metastatic disease while focusing on family, photography, support groups, and quality of life.