Hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive breast cancer with later lung metastasis
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Biomarkers
- Hormone receptor-positive; HER2-positive
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Lung
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, targeted therapy and hormone therapy
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Alternating annual mammography and ultrasound found a 1.5 cm breast tumor
- hormone receptor-positive and HER2-positive disease with no lymph node metastasis reported
- neoadjuvant chemotherapy
- surgery
- postoperative chemotherapy
- radiation therapy
- molecular targeted therapy
- hormone therapy taken daily for 5 years to prevent recurrence
- several years later, lung metastasis found on chest X-ray
- ongoing molecular targeted therapy expected to continue indefinitely.
What happened, in summary
This patient had regular breast screening every year, alternating mammography and ultrasound. One screening found a 1.5 cm breast tumor. She had not thought of herself as high risk: she exercised, felt healthy, and did not match the common risk factors she knew about. Testing showed hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive breast cancer, and lymph nodes were not involved. Her initial treatment followed a standard curative plan: chemotherapy before surgery, surgery, chemotherapy after surgery, radiation therapy, molecular targeted therapy, and then hormone therapy taken seriously every day for 5 years to prevent recurrence. Because the cancer was found early and the lymph nodes were clear, she believed there was little left to worry about. Years later, a chest X-ray done as part of a health check found that the cancer had spread to her lungs. She did not yet have symptoms from the lung metastasis, but the diagnosis changed her life again. She began molecular targeted therapy and understood that the treatment might need to continue for the rest of her life. Facing that uncertainty and the financial burden of ongoing care, she started organizing practical matters while trying to enjoy the life remaining to her.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by AZ Oncology Japan. 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