Stage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Shari's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive, PR-positive and HER2-positive (triple-positive); no inherited cancer mutation was identified
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Brain; other initial metastatic sites were not named
- Treatment
- surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation and hormone therapy
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer / Ongoing Therapy
Treatment course, step by step
- Lumpectomy → lymph-node surgery and port placement → 4 cycles of Taxotere, carboplatin and Herceptin every 21 days → maintenance Herceptin every 3 weeks → stereotactic radiation for brain metastases.
- Lupron ovarian suppression caused severe joint pain and was later replaced by surgical removal of the ovaries.
What happened, in summary
Shari found a breast lump in December 2015. A mammogram several months later led to a surgical lumpectomy because she had saline implants. The lump was breast cancer, and further staging showed that the triple-positive disease was already metastatic, making it stage 4. Her first brain MRI was clear.
Shari underwent a second operation for lymph-node evaluation and port placement, then received 4 cycles of Taxotere, carboplatin and Herceptin every 21 days. A CT scan after chemotherapy showed major improvement, so the intensive chemotherapy stopped and she continued Herceptin every 3 weeks. By the following March, scans showed no active systemic disease, although her oncologist explained that this did not mean the metastatic cancer was cured.
Months later, persistent pressure in one ear led to another evaluation. Brain imaging found metastases, which were treated with stereotactic radiation focused on the individual spots. Afterward, she began brain MRI surveillance every 3–4 months. She also received Lupron for ovarian suppression, but severe joint pain led her to pursue surgical removal of her ovaries.
Shari continued working and travelling while living with stage 4 cancer. She rejected the idea that looking well meant she was cured and used her experience to explain the realities of metastatic disease, scan anxiety and lifelong treatment.
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