Breast cancer that spread to the thymus gland

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Oestrogen receptor-positive; progesterone receptor-positive; HER2-negative

Metastatic Site: thymus

She had a good response after 4 cycles of abemaciclib, anastrozole and goserelin and continued endocrine treatment with surveillance of the opposite breast.

PubMed CentralRead more →

Stage IIB Breast Cancer Treatment Followed by BRCA1 Testing

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female | Stage II

Biomarkers: BRCA1 pathogenic variant

She completed 10 years of endocrine therapy without evidence of breast-cancer recurrence.

PubMed CentralRead more →

Triple-Negative Bilateral Breast Cancer Treated With Surgery, Radiation, and Oral Chemotherapy

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female | Stage I

Biomarkers: Triple-negative breast cancer; germline BRCA1 pathogenic variant confirmed later

She completed radiotherapy and 2 years of tegafur-uracil without evidence of breast-cancer recurrence.

PubMed CentralRead more →

Stage IIIC Ovarian Cancer Found During Preoperative Screening

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female | Stage III

Biomarkers: BRCA1 pathogenic variant on homologous recombination deficiency testing; germline BRCA1 pathogenic variant

At approximately 1 year after surgery, she was alive without evidence of recurrence while continuing olaparib and bevacizumab maintenance therapy.

PubMed CentralRead more →

Early signet-ring gastric cancer removed endoscopically with a delayed perforation complication

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 70+

He recovered from the delayed perforation and perigastric abscess, was discharged on postoperative day 14, and had no abscess recurrence on CT at postoperative day 34.

PubMed CentralRead more →

Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: Carmen's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Carmen, Male, 40s | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: Liver

As of March 2023, Carmen was in remission after Stage IV rectal cancer with liver metastasis was treated with radiation, chemotherapy, rectum/liver surgery, temporary ileostomy, and ileostomy reversal, with recent CT scans showing no evidence of disease.

Cleveland ClinicRead more →

Recurrent gastric cancer with bone metastases, venous thrombosis and chylothorax

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

Metastatic Site: bone

Biopsy-confirmed bone recurrence developed more than a year after surgery. He was too unwell for palliative chemotherapy and died a few months after transition to best supportive care.

PubMed CentralRead more →

HER2-positive breast cancer on hemodialysis: partial response to T-DM1 then no metabolically active disease

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

Biomarkers: Hormone receptor-positive; HER2/neu-positive; E-cadherin-positive; Ki-67 55-60%; luminal B type

As of March 2023, after 12 total cycles of T-DM1 and modified radical mastectomy, PET-CT showed no metabolically active disease, and she continued endocrine therapy and dialysis.

PubMed CentralRead more →

Rare breast blood-vessel cancer (angiosarcoma) in a teenage girl

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female

Biomarkers: Testing for Li-Fraumeni syndrome and POT1 mutation was inconclusive; no inherited cancer predisposition was established

She remained in remission 3 years after diagnosis and continued annual MRI surveillance of the reconstructed and opposite breasts.

PubMed CentralRead more →

BRCA2 Breast Cancer: Sue's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Sue Friedman, Female, Under 40

Biomarkers: BRCA2 mutation

As of February 2023, Sue Friedman was a long-term breast cancer survivor and founder of FORCE after a BRCA2-associated breast cancer and recurrence; the video is educational and does not state current active disease, NED, or metastatic status for Sue.

The Patient StoryRead more →

Stage II Breast Cancer: Renée's Patient Story

Patient Info: Renée, Female, Under 40 | Stage II

Biomarkers: Not genetically inherited; breast cancer linked by her team to prior doxorubicin exposure and total-body radiation

As of February 2023, Renée described stable health, working treatments, good bloodwork, and ongoing long-term hormone/anti-cancer therapy; she did not consider herself cancer-free and preferred survivor/thriver language.

The Patient StoryRead more →

Rare breast cancer subtype that recurred years later in a more aggressive form

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female | Stage IV

Biomarkers: CD117 focally positive in the transformed component; high Ki-67; hormone-receptor status was unknown at the original diagnosis

Metastatic Site: lungs

One year after treatment for the late chest-wall recurrence, CT showed another local recurrence and metastatic nodules in both lungs. She chose to continue treatment elsewhere.

PubMed CentralRead more →

Growing Masses After Chemotherapy for an Ovarian Germ Cell Tumor

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, Under 40

Biomarkers: AFP 581.2 ng/mL and CA-125 74.3 U/mL after surgery

Despite 6 chemotherapy cycles and normalization of AFP, abdominal and pelvic masses continued to grow while CA-125 and CEA increased. She sought a second opinion and underwent imaging and biopsy of an abdominal mass.

PubMed CentralRead more →

Stage IV BRCA Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Langley's Patient Story

Patient Info: Langley Perer, female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: inherited BRCA mutation

Metastatic Site: brain, bones, leptomeninges

After 1 year on a PARP inhibitor, Langley’s metastatic breast cancer remained in check without progression and some lesions had begun to shrink.

Dana-FarberRead more →

Stage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Carol's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Carol, Female, 70+ | Stage I

Carol recovered from lumpectomy for stage 1A disease and was doing well on an aromatase inhibitor, with occasional hot flashes.

Lobular Breast Cancer AllianceRead more →

Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: JJ's Patient Story

Patient Info: JJ, Male, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Microsatellite-mutated disease mentioned in clinical-trial context; exact MSI/MMR result not otherwise specified

Metastatic Site: Abdominal wall; lymph nodes; stomach/intestinal outlet…

As of January 2023, JJ was living with incurable Stage IV colon cancer on pembrolizumab/Keytruda clinical-trial infusions every 3 weeks; the trial had kept the abdominal tumor mass from spreading and had helped him live beyond the prognosis he feared, but it was not described as curative.

The Patient StoryRead more →

I was in Disbelief When I got Colon Cancer

Patient Info: JJ Singleton, Male, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Lynch syndrome

Metastatic Site: Abdominal wall; lymph nodes

After surgery and 12 rounds of FOLFOX, JJ had a clean scan and colonoscopy, but about 6 weeks later cancer recurred outside the colon with spread to the abdominal wall and lymph nodes.

The Patient StoryRead more →

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Lucy E., Female, Under 40

Biomarkers: BRCA1 mutation; triple-negative breast cancer

As of January 2023, Lucy had been told she was all-clear/cancer-free after chemotherapy, had undergone double mastectomy with staged reconstruction planning, and was continuing close oncology reviews every 3-4 months.

The Patient StoryRead more →

Stage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy's Patient Story

Patient Info: Lucy, Female, Under 40 | Stage II

Biomarkers: BRCA1 mutation; triple-negative breast cancer

As of January 2023, Lucy had gone through fertility preservation, chemotherapy, and double mastectomy for Stage II grade 3 triple-negative breast cancer with BRCA1 mutation; no NED or recurrence status was stated.

The Patient StoryRead more →

Stage II HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Lanie's Patient Story

Patient Info: Lanie Jones, Female, Under 40 | Stage II

Biomarkers: HER2-positive; Li-Fraumeni syndrome / TP53 mutation; BRCA-negative

As of January 2023, Lanie was living with Li-Fraumeni syndrome after 5 cancer diagnoses and was on lifelong maintenance chemotherapy while advocating for genetic testing and specialized surveillance.

The Patient StoryRead more →

Colorectal Cancer: Peggy's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Peggy

Completed treatment and described being in remission.

Our Cancer StoriesRead more →

HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Annette's Patient Story

Patient Info: Annette La Fontaine, Female

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

As of January 2023, Annette was in survivorship after bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction and was taking a daily aromatase inhibitor to reduce recurrence risk while rebuilding body confidence and emotional well-being.

The Patient StoryRead more →

Stage I Breast Cancer: Gayna's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Gayna, Female, 50s | Stage I

Gayna completed treatment for Stage I breast cancer and described optimism, thankfulness, permanent diet/exercise changes, and plans to stay well and enjoy life.

Our Cancer StoriesRead more →

Breast Cancer: Maeve's Patient Story

Patient Info: Maeve

Maeve had undergone lumpectomy, lymph-node surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapy and was focused on returning to work and being present for her family.

Our Cancer StoriesRead more →