What happened, in summary

Lisa Ordmandy was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and was told after treatment elsewhere that it would not recur. A few years later, a fall from a stationary bicycle caused a C2 vertebral fracture, and doctors believed the fracture was caused by recurrent breast cancer in the spine. That became the start of her metastatic breast cancer journey. Lisa came to MD Anderson and met a spine neurosurgeon who initially recommended watching the spinal disease rather than operating. She began palbociclib, a targeted therapy for breast cancer, and remained stable for 5 years while living a normal life. In 2020, after a hiking fall, MRI showed a collapsed L3 vertebra. It was stable, so her team continued to monitor it. After another fall in late 2023, her leg gave out and pain became severe. At MD Anderson’s Acute Cancer Care Center, doctors found the L3 vertebra was fractured. In November 2023, Lisa had spine surgery. The surgeon placed 2 titanium rods and 8 screws, and recovery took about 10 weeks before the pain eased. She progressed from walker to cane to walking unassisted and started physical therapy. As of June 2024, Lisa was living with metastatic breast cancer as a chronic illness, continuing MD Anderson scans and visits, and being evaluated for possible clinical trials.