paclitaxel: 74 Real Stories
74 stories match paclitaxel. 67 of them mention surgery.
Stage I Ovarian Cancer: Jane’s Survivor Story
Jane McGrath was 45 when persistent bloating, back pain and fatigue led her to seek medical attention. A transvaginal ultrasound and a second scan showed a growth about the size of an orange on her left ovary. She was referred to Memorial Sloan Kettering…
Read this storyStage II Ovarian Cancer: Dana’s Survivor Story
A painful lump in the left side of this patient’s abdomen eventually led to a diagnosis of bilateral ovarian cancer in 2018. Early imaging showed very large tumors, but repeat evaluation at MD Anderson found that the cancer had not spread extensively. It was…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Nathalie’s Patient Story
Nathalie, a homemaker and mother of two from Colombia, had been living with stage 4 breast cancer for more than three years. A strong family history prompted her to seek evaluation after noticing changes in breast shape and areas of thickening. Several…
Read this storyStage IV Ovarian Cancer: Manisha’s Survivor Story
Manisha Koirala was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer in 2012 after persistent sickness and abdominal bloating. The cancer had spread beyond the ovaries. After a second opinion confirmed the diagnosis, Manisha traveled from Nepal to New York for…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer Patient Story
This story was shared by the sister of a woman with aggressive lung cancer and bone metastases. The cancer involved the skull and spine and had caused a clavicle fracture. Around the same time, doctors also found a localized 4 cm breast cancer. She received…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Kevin’s Patient Story
Kevin Jarvis found 2 small, hard lumps under his left nipple while showering in April 2013. After seeing “male breast cancer” during an online search, he made an appointment with his GP when he returned from a family trip. Ultrasound and biopsy confirmed…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Survivor Story
An unnamed mother of 4 was 37 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer in December 2010. Her initial treatment included A/C followed by T/Herceptin, then a bilateral mastectomy and 36 radiation treatments. She stayed on Herceptin for about 8…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Genevieve’s Survivor Story
Genevieve first found breast cancer in 1987, at age 40, after noticing a small hard lump in her right breast. Surgery removed the tumor and lymph nodes while preserving the breast, and pathology showed an aggressive non-hormone-receptive cancer. She received…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Cher’s Survivor Story
Cher first noticed a sore lump under her arm after recovering from COVID and thought it might be a swollen lymph node. When it grew larger and more painful, she went for evaluation. Ultrasound and lymph-node biopsy showed breast cancer, but imaging still…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Michelle’s Survivor Story
Michelle Kang was 27 and thriving in a cancer-care administration career when she felt a lump in her right breast during a trip to South Korea. Doctors there seemed unconcerned, but Michelle trusted her instincts and arranged testing back in New York. Imaging…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy’s Survivor Story
Lucy found a breast lump at 23, months after learning that she carried a germline BRCA1 mutation. Several clinicians thought the area felt like fibrous tissue, but because of her inherited risk she continued with imaging and biopsy. Three days after her 24th…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Melissa’s Survivor Story
Melissa found a growing, painless lump in her left breast while breastfeeding her 1-year-old daughter. Testing confirmed stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer, and she soon learned that she was pregnant with her second child. She was in her late 20s and had…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Alison’s Survivor Story
Alison was 34 and breastfeeding when she found a lump under her right arm. Biopsies confirmed triple-positive breast cancer in the breast and axillary lymph nodes. After HER2 testing returned equivocal 3 times, the final result guided a TCHP regimen…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Stefanie’s Survivor Story
Stefanie first noticed a breast lump when she was 5 months pregnant and assumed it was a clogged milk duct. The night she delivered her second child by scheduled C-section, a postpartum nurse raised concern about the lump. An ultrasound was inconclusive, so a…
Read this storyStage IV Gastric Adenocarcinoma: Derek’s Survivor Story
Derek Cooney, an emergency physician, was 48 when difficulty eating and drinking led to testing and a diagnosis of diffuse gastric adenocarcinoma. A laparoscopy showed that the cancer had spread to his peritoneum, making it Stage IV. Derek began with 8 rounds…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Renee’s Patient Story
Renee first found a hard, painful breast area after playing with her children. Her family doctor quickly suspected breast cancer, and testing showed Stage III disease. The first plan was chemotherapy before surgery, with the hope that she might be able to…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Bethany’s Patient Story
Bethany was 33 when a breast lump she had watched for months became impossible to dismiss. Earlier breast lumps in her 20s had turned out to be cysts or swollen lymph nodes, and she had dense breast tissue, so she first assumed this one was benign too. The…
Read this storyStage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Stephanie’s Survivor Story
Stephanie found a small lump in her left breast while self-employed and uninsured. Because she could not ignore the possibility of cancer, she researched options and was connected with the Bridge Breast Network, which helps uninsured and underinsured women in…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Callie’s Survivor Story
Callie was 38 when she noticed dimpling and a bulge in her breast. Her husband urged her to take it seriously, and her primary care doctor quickly arranged a mammogram and ultrasound. The radiologist told her the mammogram was BI-RADS 5, highly suspicious for…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Andrea’s Survivor Story
Andrea was pregnant and around 30 weeks along when she mentioned a divot in her breast at an OB-GYN visit. A same-day breast center evaluation led to biopsy of both the breast and lymph nodes, and she soon learned she had breast cancer. Her story describes…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Erin’s Patient Story
Erin first noticed an ache near her left breast and armpit, then later saw dimpling in the skin. A mammogram was clear, but she pointed the ultrasound team to the exact area, and a biopsy led to breast cancer care. Surgery found that what had looked like a 9…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret’s Stage II breast cancer involved both invasive ductal carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ. She first noticed left-breast pain and an inverted nipple. Mammogram and biopsy led to diagnosis, followed by rapid decisions about surgery, scans…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Tina’s Patient Story
Tina was 37 when she noticed that her right nipple had become sunken. Because her mother had breast cancer twice, she took the change seriously and saw her OB-GYN. A mammogram first seemed routine, but a call-back led to more imaging, ultrasound, and biopsy…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Monica’s Survivor Story
Monica was 36 when she felt a firm knot in her breast while working on shoulder strength after unrelated injuries. Imaging quickly raised concern, and a surgical biopsy led to a Stage IIB breast cancer diagnosis on November 2. Her doctors wanted chemotherapy…
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