Stage IV Breast Cancer: Pam's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Biomarkers
- Not explicitly reported; treated with anti-estrogen therapy and a CDK4/6 inhibitor
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Liver
- Treatment
- hormone therapy, targeted therapy, surgery, radiation and local ablation
- Outcome
- Responding Well
Treatment course, step by step
- Biopsy confirmed breast cancer after inflamed skin on the left breast
- Further testing found a liver spot, making it Stage IV
- Hormone-based oral anti-estrogen treatment plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor shrank the breast tumor and liver lesion
- Breast tumor removed surgically without mastectomy
- Radiation given closer to home
- Liver lesion treated with radiofrequency ablation
- Aortic aneurysms were monitored and not surgically treated.
What happened, in summary
Pam Benchley was 53, a triathlete, cyclist and fitness trainer, when she noticed inflamed skin on her left breast. A recent mammogram had not shown cancer, so she first thought the irritation came from a sports bra. A local doctor biopsied the area and found breast cancer. Additional testing showed a spot on her liver, meaning the cancer was Stage IV. Around the same time, testing also found 2 unrelated aortic aneurysms. At Cleveland Clinic, Pam’s team decided the aneurysms were small enough to monitor and focused on a cancer plan that would let her remain active. Her treatment began with a hormone-based anti-estrogen oral chemotherapy drug plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor. The combination reduced both the breast tumor and the liver tumor. Dr. Stephanie Valente then removed the breast tumor surgically, without requiring a mastectomy, and Pam had radiation closer to home. The liver spot was treated with radiofrequency ablation, a targeted local treatment. As of October 2020, Pam was training for future endurance events despite the pandemic. Her oncologist did not use the term cancer-free for metastatic breast cancer, but described Pam as free of evidence of active cancer and doing very well.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Cleveland Clinic. 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