What happened, in summary

Janet Klein expected breast cancer might eventually affect her because both her mother and sister had been diagnosed. Careful mammogram surveillance helped catch her first breast cancer at Stage 1, before it had spread. There was no lymph-node involvement, and she had surgery followed by tamoxifen. About 4 years later, while still taking tamoxifen, a screening mammogram found a suspicious area in the small amount of breast tissue left after mastectomy. Biopsy confirmed recurrence. A PET scan and bone biopsy then showed that the cancer had metastasized to her left iliac bone, making it Stage 4 breast cancer. Janet had a lumpectomy and bilateral oophorectomy, then joined a phase I clinical trial using palbociclib with letrozole. The bone tumor was monitored rather than treated with radiation. About 9 months after starting the trial, there was no sign of cancer in her body, and that NED status continued from January 2010 onward. She remained on daily letrozole and cyclical palbociclib as long as they kept the cancer controlled. Janet described excellent quality of life and wanted others to know that Stage 4 breast cancer can sometimes be controlled for years.