Stage IV Breast Cancer: Lisa's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Spine/bone: C2 and L3 vertebrae
- Treatment
- targeted therapy, surgery, surveillance and physical therapy
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Initial 2007 breast cancer treatment happened at another hospital, but exact treatments are not stated
- Metastatic recurrence caused a C2 vertebral fracture
- Palbociclib targeted therapy began at MD Anderson and kept disease stable for 5 years
- 2020 MRI showed a collapsed L3 vertebra that was watched while stable
- Pain and L3 fracture worsened in late 2023
- November 2023 spine surgery placed 2 rods and 8 screws
- Recovery involved a walker, cane, and physical therapy
- Ongoing scans and visits continued; possible clinical trials were discussed but no trial treatment started in the source.
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.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by MD Anderson. 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