Stage IV Breast Cancer: Suzy's Survivor Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Bone
- Treatment
- surgery and targeted therapy
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / NED
Treatment course, step by step
- Late 2022 lump under collarbone and left-breast pain despite prior clear mammogram
- delayed surgery/removal in February 2023 led to metastatic breast cancer diagnosis workup
- scans, tests, and 3 bone biopsies
- April 2023 de novo Stage IV metastatic breast cancer with bone metastases
- targeted treatment started May 2023
- no evidence of active disease by December 2023.
What happened, in summary
Suzy was a respiratory therapist with 17 years of experience when her own symptoms were dismissed. In late 2022, she noticed a lump under her collarbone and frequent pain in her left breast. A clear mammogram the year before made clinicians less concerned, and she was told stress could explain what she felt. Suzy trusted her intuition and pushed to have the lump removed, but pandemic-related backlogs meant she waited about 1 year. In February 2023, surgery that was expected to be straightforward instead opened the door to a much bigger diagnosis. Over the next 2 months, Suzy had scans, tests, and 3 bone biopsies. In April 2023, she learned she had de novo Stage IV metastatic breast cancer with spread to her bones. Her oncologist gave a 2- to 3-year prognosis, and she began targeted treatment in May 2023. By December 2023, she was told there was no evidence of active disease. As of July 2025, Suzy was living in the in-between: grateful for that response, still aware of the seriousness of metastatic breast cancer, and focused on travel, family, hope, and trusting her instincts.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Susan G. Komen. 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