Stage I Breast Cancer: Stella's Patient Story

Patient Info: Stella | Stage I

She is in remission after surgery and chemotherapy and remains on hormone therapy.

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Stage I Breast Cancer: Melissa's Patient Story

Patient Info: Melissa | Stage I

Melissa was in remission and continued hormone therapy while managing fear of recurrence.

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Ana's Stage 2 Breast Cancer and Cancer-Free Milestone

Patient Info: Ana, Female, 50s | Stage II

Ana completed intensive multimodal treatment and was declared cancer-free in 2024. She continued Tamoxifen as a planned 5-year hormone-therapy course.

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Stage III Breast Cancer: Blanca's Patient Story

Patient Info: Blanca, Female, 50s | Stage III

As of 2021, Blanca had completed active treatment, had not received radiation therapy, and remained on hormone therapy while rebuilding daily life and family routines.

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Breast Cancer Recurrence Treated With Radiation Despite a Chronic Skin Condition

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s

Biomarkers: ER-positive; PR-positive; HER2-negative

After treatment of a chest-wall recurrence and a radiographically suspicious ischial lesion, she completed chest-wall radiation, her skin healed within 5 weeks, and she remained under surgical, radiation-oncology, and dermatology review.

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Occult lobular breast cancer first discovered through colon metastases

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 70+ | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ER-positive; PR-negative; HER2-negative; E-cadherin-negative

Metastatic Site: colon

Her tumour marker decreased during letrozole and palbociclib treatment, but recurrent infections interrupted therapy, and she died from urosepsis 2 years after diagnosis.

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Male breast cancer found after persistent nipple discharge without a lump

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 60s | Stage 0

Biomarkers: ER-positive; PR-positive

Six months after mastectomy, surveillance examination found no clinical evidence of recurrence.

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Stage I Breast Cancer: Deborah's Patient Story

Patient Info: Deborah Brown, Female, 60s | Stage I

As of October 2020, Deborah had completed lumpectomy and 5 focused radiation treatments for Stage I breast cancer and remained on oral hormone therapy; chemotherapy was not needed and recurrence status was not otherwise stated.

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Stage IV Breast Cancer: Pam's Patient Story

Patient Info: Pam Benchley, Female, 50s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Not explicitly reported; treated with anti-estrogen therapy and a CDK4/6 inhibitor

Metastatic Site: Liver

As of October 2020, Pam had responded favorably to anti-estrogen therapy plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor, surgery, radiation and liver radiofrequency ablation; her oncologist described her as free of evidence of active cancer, while avoiding the term cancer-free for metastatic disease.

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Breast cancer treated with anastrozole after a separate advanced lung cancer diagnosis

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 60s

She received anastrozole for breast cancer while advanced lung cancer determined the immediate treatment course, and she later died after acute hypoxic respiratory failure.

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A New Breast Cancer Arising Beneath an Accessory Nipple

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 40s

Biomarkers: ER 5%; PR 5–10%; HER2-negative.

After chemotherapy, surgery, endocrine therapy, proton radiation, and later reconstruction revision, she was currently without evidence of disease.

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Stage IIIA Right Breast Cancer Followed by a Late Radiation Nerve Injury

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage III

Imaging in January 2019 found no evidence of breast-cancer recurrence, although she had developed radiation-induced brachial plexopathy.

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HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Linked to a Rare Immune-Related Neurological Syndrome

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 40s

Biomarkers: HER2-positive in both foci; one focus ER-negative/PR-positive with Ki-67 45%; second focus ER-negative/PR-negative with Ki-67 35%; anti-Yo antibodies positive in serum and CSF; tumour-susceptibility gene panel negative

At 1 year, she had completed trastuzumab, continued tamoxifen, and had no evidence of recurrent breast cancer; intensive rehabilitation improved her mobility, although balance and right-sided neurological deficits persisted.

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Recurrent Breast Cancer With a Benign-Appearing Chest-Wall Rash

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Initial tumor: ER-positive; PR-negative; HER2-negative.

Metastatic Site: mediastinal lymph nodes

She had recurrent chest-wall and mediastinal metastatic disease; a later rash biopsy showed dermatitis rather than another skin recurrence.

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Late Breast Skin Changes After Partial-Breast Radiation

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s

Mammography, ultrasound, MRI, and skin biopsy found no breast-cancer recurrence 13 years after treatment.

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Young woman with ductal breast cancer and bleeding gastric metastases

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ER-positive; PR-negative; HER2-negative

Metastatic Site: pancreas|liver|kidney|stomach

After rapid progression to the pancreas, liver, kidney and stomach, she chose palliative care and died 1 month after presenting with gastrointestinal bleeding.

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Earlier left ductal breast cancer treated with radiation and endocrine therapy

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 70+

She completed radiation and adjuvant endocrine therapy for the earlier ductal cancer; 8 years later, she developed a separate lobular carcinoma in the same breast.

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Lobular breast cancer later spread to the stomach, bone, neck and mediastinum

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 70+ | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ER-positive; PR-positive; HER2-negative

Metastatic Site: stomach|bone|neck|mediastinum

After gastric metastasis was diagnosed and later imaging showed bone, neck and mediastinal spread, her oral intake and health declined; she chose palliative care and died 7 months after the diagnostic endoscopy.

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Stage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Caitlin's Patient Story

Patient Info: Caitlin J., Female, Under 40 | Stage II

Biomarkers: ER-positive; PR-positive; BRCA-negative

As of July 2020, Caitlin had completed lumpectomy, AC chemotherapy, Taxol, and 33 radiation treatments for Stage IIB ER-positive, PR-positive IDC and was continuing monthly Lupron plus daily anastrozole.

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Lobular Breast Cancer Spread Into a Nasal Tumor

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Metastatic lobular focus: ER 8/8; PR 8/8; HER2-negative; E-cadherin-negative.

Metastatic Site: liver; bone; right nasal cavity within an olfactory…

The nasal lesion was removed with no residual local disease on imaging, and capecitabine was restarted while oncology follow-up continued for metastatic breast cancer.

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Stage III rectal adenocarcinoma with concurrent intermediate-risk prostate cancer

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 60s

Biomarkers: Rectal cancer CEA was not elevated. Prostate cancer PSA was high before treatment and low after radiation.

The rectal tumor achieved pathologic complete response with no residual tumor and 0 of 13 lymph nodes involved. Surveillance CT at 10 months showed no local recurrence or distant metastasis, and PSA remained low 1 year after operation.

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Occult breast cancer found in the axillary lymph nodes during diagnosis of four cancers

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 70+

Biomarkers: ER 90% positive; HER2 overexpression; CK19-positive; mammaglobin-positive.

Almost four years after the synchronous cancer diagnoses, she was alive without recurrence and continued letrozole and oncology follow-up.

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Jaw and neck infection mimicked breast cancer spread ten years after treatment

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s

Ten years after mastectomy and radiation, she remained on adjuvant hormone therapy; the new jaw and neck lesions were actinomycosis rather than breast-cancer spread.

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Stage IV Breast Cancer: Kirby's Patient Story

Patient Info: Kirby Lewis, Male | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ER-positive, PR-positive, HER2-negative

Metastatic Site: lung|spine

Kirby was living with metastatic breast cancer, and his most recent scans showed the right-lung tumor was stable with no signs of progression while he continued fulvestrant and palbociclib.