Stage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Sarah's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

Sarah was 37 when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer had affected several women in her family: her grandmother was a 40-year survivor, her aunt a 20-year survivor, and her mother had also been diagnosed. Sarah said her family did not have BRCA or other known hereditary genes, but the family pattern still felt significant. For her first diagnosis, she chose a double mastectomy because she did not want to go through breast cancer again. She then had about 4 months of chemotherapy, about 6 weeks of radiation, and 1 year of Herceptin. After her last Herceptin treatment on a Tuesday, her family left for Disney World that Friday, believing treatment was behind them. Three years later, the cancer came back as Stage IV HER2-positive breast cancer. By January 2017, Sarah had been living with metastatic disease for almost 3 years. She was taking Kadcyla every 3 weeks and expected treatment to continue indefinitely. She described herself as functioning well, raising 3 children, traveling with family, and saying yes to experiences she might once have postponed. Cancer still brought hard moments, but it also pushed her family to live more fully. She also avoided making cancer the first thing new people knew about her because she wanted to remain more than her diagnosis.