Stage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Abigail's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive, PR-positive, HER2-positive
- Sex
- female
- Spread to
- bones, brain
- Treatment
- surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy and clinical trial
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Initial treatment included a double mastectomy.
- She also received radiation.
- She received chemotherapy.
- She received hormone therapy.
- After the cancer spread to her bones in 2015, she received radiation to a painful hip lesion.
- Over the following years, she received multiple HER2-directed treatments, including T-DM1 and trastuzumab deruxtecan.
- She also received tucatinib through the HER2CLIMB clinical trial.
- She later underwent brain surgery after breast cancer spread to her brain.
What happened, in summary
Abigail Myers was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2014, just over a year after the birth of her son. Testing showed triple-positive disease, with estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors. Her initial treatment included a double mastectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy. In May 2015, severe pain in her hip and neck led to the discovery that the cancer had spread to her bones, making it Stage IV. Radiation to the hip helped her regain the ability to walk. Over the next 8 years, Abigail received multiple HER2-directed treatments, including T-DM1, trastuzumab deruxtecan, and tucatinib through the HER2CLIMB clinical trial. She later needed brain surgery after the cancer spread to her brain. Treatment also brought hospital admissions for low blood counts and two broken feet. At age 39, Abigail continued to live with metastatic breast cancer while focusing on her son, travel, friendships, support groups, and staying active when her energy allowed. Her goal remained to see her son grow into adulthood.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Dana-Farber. 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