What happened, in summary

April Donaldson was 40 when she found 4 lumps along the side of her left breast in January 2020, only months after a normal mammogram. Around the same time, she received genetic testing results showing she was BRCA1 positive. Biopsy confirmed triple-negative breast cancer, and her surgeon explained that it was Stage II because the cancer was still local to the breast but involved about 2 lymph nodes. Initial treatment was about 6 months of chemotherapy, including Adriamycin, also called the Red Devil, and a CarboTaxol regimen. She then had a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction and several lymph nodes removed. April was told she was cancer-free, but the pathology report later raised concern because some biopsy clips were not found. The cancer returned in 2021, only months later, leading to another round of chemotherapy, another surgery, and an extra surgery to retrieve remaining clips. Radiation was delayed but eventually delivered as proton therapy in 2022 because the cancer was on the left side near the heart and lungs. During a hospitalization for infection in May 2022, doctors saw lung nodules. They were monitored, then later confirmed through lung surgery/biopsy as metastatic breast cancer in the lungs. As of September 2023, April was living with Stage IV disease. February scans were stable, but July scans showed growth again, and PARP inhibitor therapy was being planned.