Survivor Stories

Learn about other womens stories about battling breast cancer

image of a woman wearing pink and black, holding a sign

Wanda Heit

Four months after a routine mammogram with normal results, Wanda felt a lump on the outer edge of her left breast. Her surgeon was confident that the lump would be benign, so Wanda had it removed.

But just three days later, she received devastating news: Stage 3 breast cancer.

“I was shocked to hear those words, ‘you have breast cancer,’ with no family history of breast cancer, five sisters, and I just had a mammogram with no signs,” Wanda said.

Wanda decided to undergo a bilateral mastectomy with reconstructive surgery after determining that the cancer was only in her left breast. Surgeons removed nine lymph nodes, and seven of those were positive. That meant radiation treatment.

Wanda began aggressive chemotherapy treatments, which took a toll on her body. She developed painful mouth sores, and she had a low white blood cell count. She then had to undergo a second round of radiation.

Support from her husband, co-workers, and long-distance family pushed her to continue fighting.

Molly Grubbs

Molly Grubbs is celebrating because it’s been exactly one year since her last chemo treatment.

Molly visited her primary care doctor in 2016 for a routine breast exam. During the exam, the doctor found a small spot.

A mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy determined that the spot was benign. After a follow-up appointment six months later, she was reassured that she was healthy.

Molly returned three years later, a few days after she turned 40. A 3D mammogram, ultrasound, biopsy, and an MRI showed that the same spot that had once been benign had turned cancerous, and it had spread.

Molly received a diagnosis of stage two invasive ductal carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ. Her right breast had three spots of cancer that had spread into the lymph nodes. She also learned that she was estrogen dominant and her body had difficulty detoxing through her liver. Molly started her treatments right away and took advantage of the incredible care and expertise of the staff at the Regional Cancer Center.

“The gift in my diagnosis was seeing how much love and kindness my family, friends, and co-workers shared with me during this difficult time,” Molly said. “I felt supported and encouraged every step of my journey.”

In June 2019, Molly underwent a double mastectomy before starting chemotherapy that lasted three months. She then began 25 rounds of radiation before entering forced menopause in January 2020. This July, Molly completed reconstructive breast surgery, a result of her double mastectomy.

image of a woman wearing a black dress, holding a sign
image of a woman wearing a blue dress with flowers on it, holding a sign

Donna Davis

“I am loved, I am strong, I am happy, and I am cancer free.”

Those are the words that Donna repeated to herself over and over again as she battled for her life after a breast cancer diagnosis in January 2017.

After breaking her shoulder, she underwent surgery and began physical therapy. But even as her shoulder healed, her underarm continued to feel tender, so she went for a mammogram. It was then that she was given the answer that every woman fears — she had triple negative breast cancer.

“My diagnosis consisted of a lump under my collarbone that was inoperable, two in my breast, and five behind my chest wall,” Donna said. “Because of this, I had to do chemotherapy first to see if it would shrink or take away the inoperable tumor.”

Donna underwent six months of chemotherapy with port placement, one surgery, and six weeks of radiation. Throughout her treatment, her friends, family, and co-workers supported her through prayers, hugs, cards, and phone calls.

Though her diagnosis was three and a half years ago, she still meets routinely with her oncologist to ensure that she is staying healthy and cancer free.

“My family, my co-workers, my friends, my faith, and others that had been through this gave me so much support,” Donna said. “I also did a countdown on treatments with the help of my grandchildren. They made me a paper chain with encouraging words on each link that I would take off after each treatment. I was determined to get this done and behind me.”