Stage IV Breast Cancer: Lianne's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Sex
- female
- Spread to
- brain
- Treatment
- surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy and clinical trial
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- In 2014, she underwent a double mastectomy.
- She received chemotherapy.
- She then received radiation for Stage II breast cancer.
- After 12 brain metastases were found in 2016, she joined a clinical trial of abemaciclib instead of starting whole-brain radiation.
- She left that trial in early 2017 when the brain metastases grew.
- She then entered several additional clinical trials as treatment needs changed.
What happened, in summary
Lianne Kraemer was 37 when a small painful area in her left breast led to imaging and a biopsy in late 2013. She was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer involving lymph nodes. In 2014, she underwent a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, reconstruction, and radiation. In June 2016, a sudden tingling sensation on the right side of her face prompted a brain scan that found 12 metastases. Rather than start the whole-brain radiation that had initially been recommended, Lianne joined a clinical trial of the targeted drug abemaciclib. The treatment contained the brain disease for a time, but she left the study in early 2017 when the metastases began to grow. Her Dana-Farber team then helped her move through several additional clinical trials as treatment needs changed. Six years after the brain metastases were first found, Lianne was still traveling from Chicago to Boston every 8 weeks for scans and treatment decisions. She also became an advocate for others with breast cancer brain metastases, helping patients find information, specialists, and clinical trials.
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