Stage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Samantha's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive; PR-positive; HER2-positive
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Rib; spine; pelvis
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, targeted therapy and a clinical trial
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer / Ongoing Therapy
Treatment course, step by step
- Initial chemotherapy including paclitaxel, stopped early because of neuropathy → lumpectomy → radiation to the breast and suspected rib metastasis → letrozole plus ribociclib from November 2019 to October 2021, then paused for pregnancy.
- After recurrence in the spine and pelvis: surgery to stabilize a fractured vertebra → 3 radiation treatments → clinical trial using chemotherapy with a bone-targeting radium drug [stopped for mixed response] → current anastrozole plus abemaciclib.
What happened, in summary
Samantha was 22 when a breast lump, initially treated as an infection, was confirmed as cancer. Further imaging found a small rib lesion that shrank with chemotherapy, showing that the disease had already spread and making the diagnosis stage 4.
She received chemotherapy that included paclitaxel, but stopped it early when neuropathy threatened permanent nerve damage. A lumpectomy was followed by radiation to the breast and rib. She then took letrozole with ribociclib for 2 years and had no evidence of disease on scans. Because the side effects were severe, she paused treatment in October 2021 to try for a baby and became pregnant in April 2022.
Months after giving birth and moving to Alaska, Samantha developed extreme back pain and collapsed during a family outing. Imaging showed several cancer lesions in her spine and pelvis, including a vertebral fracture. She needed surgery to stabilize her spine before she could fly back to Virginia, followed by 3 radiation treatments.
Samantha entered a clinical trial combining chemotherapy with a bone-targeting radium drug. Pain and some markers improved, but mixed scan results led her to leave the trial. She then started anastrozole and abemaciclib. At the latest update, this combination was more tolerable than her earlier hormone-targeted therapy and she remained in ongoing treatment for metastatic disease.
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