When Marianne got sick in 2023, she thought it could have been COVID-19 or another illness. But after a few months, she just wasn’t getting better. During that time, Marianne was also experiencing some pain in her breast but chalked it up to rough playtime with a boisterous new puppy.
But that all changed in September when Marianne felt a large lump in her breast while performing a breast self-exam in the shower. “I decided I should see a doctor, just to be on the safe side,” Marianne said. “And thank God I did. That’s when everything began.”
Marianne received an initial diagnosis of Stage 2A triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) in January 2024. TNBC, an especially aggressive and difficult-to-treat form of breast cancer, occurs in approximately 10-20% of breast cancer cases. At only 35 years old, Marianne was shocked by the diagnosis. But the surprises weren’t over yet.
After more testing, Marianne’s diagnosis was changed to Stage 4 triple negative metastatic breast cancer, which had spread to her lungs. Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is breast cancer that has spread from the breast tissue into other areas of the body, most commonly the bones, lungs, liver, or brain. While there is no cure for metastatic breast cancer, more and more women are living longer with the disease by treating it as a chronic illness.
Of her MBC diagnosis, Marianne recalls: “I had the PET scan and they saw the lung nodules, that I was metastatic, but we had to make sure with a lung biopsy to see if they were malignant. I was 35 then, and now I am 36. This all happened so fast, it feels like a blur sometimes.”
Marianne has overcome several roadblocks during her treatment, all with the support of her family and community. One of her lowest points came when her chemo port became infected, causing her to spend 12 days in the hospital. Despite being “depressed and sad” during this particularly hard time, Marianne says one of the silver linings was when a hospital therapy dog was able to visit her, boosting her spirits.
From diagnosis to treatment and beyond, Marianne credits “the best support system” for everything from taking her to appointments and holding her hand to simply listening. Marianne’s parents, who live in New York, temporarily moved to Indiana, renting a house there, to be near their daughter and take her to her treatments. They are now in the process of moving to Indiana permanently to be closer to Marianne and her fiancé.
This family support system has been an important and vital part of Marianne’s treatment and healing. She says, “I have the best support system. My fiancé has been with me every step of the way. He has taken me to doctor appointments and held my hand at chemo. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family.”
Marianne is also a committed member of a Stage 4 breast cancer support group. This group brings Marianne encouragement as she hears from women with metastatic breast cancer who have overcome the odds, living up to 20 years with the disease.
“I wasn’t able to fully connect to the group until I was a few months into treatment because it was still raw for me,” Marianne added. “In this group, every few months you can ask to have everyone comment with how long they have been alive with Stage 4, and the longest I have seen is a woman who has had Stage 4 since 1994! It makes me feel so hopeful.”
Recently, on July 23, 2024, Marianne rang the bell to celebrate her last chemotherapy treatment! After 57 appointments, 8 surgeries, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, Marianne reports that “all of the tumors are gone, completely.”
Marianne also recently appeared on ESPN with the Indiana Fever for the WNBA team’s Breast Cancer Awareness Game. During the game, Marianne was able to walk on the stage and be announced as a breast cancer survivor!
When asked what advice she would give to other late-stage breast cancer patients, Marianne encourages them to talk about what they’re going through: “Talk about your diagnosis. I didn’t at first; I couldn’t even say it out loud without sobbing. But the more I said it, the more I felt good about it and owned it!”
In addition to being an active member of her support group, Marianne supports other women facing breast cancer as a video game streamer through NBCF’s Game Pink initiative. Game Pink gives gamers, streamers, and content creators a platform to support those impacted by breast cancer by holding fundraisers on their streams.
A self-professed “nerd,” Marianne loves anime and video games. When online streaming started gaining popularity, she “decided to give it a try.” She says that “talking to others made me more of an outgoing, confident person outside of gaming.” Through streaming, she also met many new people who are now long-time friends. One of her streaming friends even sent her a care package full of coloring books and candy to eat when she doesn’t feel her best.
From the fantasy of video games to day-to-day real life, Marianne has found connection and compassion to help her through the hard times. Marianne’s message to women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer is one of support and courage: “Don’t give up, keep fighting and ask for help. Don’t feel shy to ask. Get all the help you can.”
NBCF is here to support all patients at every stage of the breast cancer journey. In addition to a free virtual support group for breast cancer patients and survivors, NBCF offers weekend metastatic breast cancer retreats for metastatic patients and their caregivers.
Donations are always appreciated, but there are lots of great ways to get involved.
Please help my sister Teresa Carrera Muñoz who had stage 3A breast ca. diagnosed and had mastectomy last 2022 and now has brain ca.😭😭😭
Help!!!😭😭😭
Hi Cristy. We would love to tell you and your sister more about our programs that offer help and support. Please email us at [email protected] or visit https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/our-programs/.
So sorry to hear this, why can’t they cure this lousy disease? Our daughter died from this disease, and now my wife has the same thing and now has been given a prognosis of 18 months to 2 years to live.
Congratulations Marianne. What a battle you’ve been through. I wish my daughter would have known you. She lost her battle with metastatic breast cancer a few months ago. Before we knew it was metastatic, she has been through chemo, surgery to remove areas of breast & lymph nodes. Then more chemo, followed by 5 weeks of radiation. Within a couple months of completing the treatments, the cancer had returned & spread to her lungs & brain. She underwent brain radiation & tried another kind of chemo to extend her life. She suffered. The chemo was working to keep cancer from growing, but she was so sick afterwards & would end up hospitalized. The oncologist decided it was causing her more harm than good. She lost her 3 year battle on July 11th, 2024. God blessed her with peace. No one should have to go through this! God blessed you.
So sorry to hear this, why can’t they cure this lousy disease? Our daughter died from this disease, and now my wife has the same thing and now has been given a prognosis of 18 months to 2 years to live.
Jim, I’m so sorry.
Dear Jim, humans do not come with an expiration date💛love your wife each day, and each day be in this very moment. 💛
I’m so happy for Marianne, but confused about her receiving surgery and being done with treatment. I’m also stage 4 with tnbc and surgery is not an option for me or anyone in my support groups. I’ve been advised some kind of chemo will be forever, especially for triple negative.
I’m confused about that too.
Agreed. There is no surgery option for me and chemo is forever. Where did she go? Who did she see?
I am interested in a support group. I am 71.
I have triple negative metastatic breast cancer.
I have wonderful familial support.
Hi Eileen! Please visit this link to learn more about NBCF support groups. https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/nbcf-programs/breast-cancer-support-group///
I have er+ pr- and her2+ metastatic breast cancer spreased to liver and bone marrow…please suggest treatement and drug to cure….
I have stage 4 tnbc with no organ involvement. I have extensive lymph node involvement and was told surgery would not be beneficial. I was also told that radiation for local control is not planned. I somewhat understand nog having surgery, but why would radiation not be an option? I even read that in some cases, radiation would boost the effects of immunotherapy. I still have 5 more keytruda infusions left so why would radiation not be helpful?
I also had Stage 4 TNBC which had advanced to the next node groups over from the breast tissue. No organs involved. I had masses in my shoulder, axillary, base of my neck, and in the thyroid area. The thyroid area mass was the only one where a biopsy was done to be sure it was breast cancer rather than thyroid cancer. Too many masses to consider surgery because the growth rate was so rapid the surgical recovery time would allow the cancer to spread.
I started chemo Thanksgiving of 2015, and was NED by Martin Luther King’s Day of 2016. Literally, every tumor was gone. Completed chemo in April of 2016. There were no appropriate clinical trials in my part of the US and I live near enough to UCLA, City of Hope and Cedars Sinai. The trial at that time administered TC to control subjects. I received TC with my Stage I diagnosis and was back at Stage 4. For the second rodeo, they used Gemzar and Carboplatin. It worked like a giant miracle eraser.
Radiation: But perhaps the difference for me was 8 or 9 masses were significant enough in size to be marked, identified, and close enough together to be radiated in the same session. They had a solid idea where they would radiate and hit all (previously) known masses. By the time I had radiation, all the masses had disappeared. I underwent a full course of targeted radiation, 25 sessions until May of 2016. I had IORT the first time so I was a candidate for traditional radiation.
It’s November 2025 and I remain cancer free.
BUT…with a diagnosis like mine they do everything the can to save you with minimal consideration for long term side effects…because there isn’t supposed to be a “long term”. I get it but there is little support for those of us who are “fortunate to be alive” but significantly impacted by the methodologies used to save us. Chemo caused me to lose about half of my hearing…so far…and the radiation caused significant lymphedema. I was in compression bandages, compression sleeves or night compression garments 24/7 for 5 to 6 years. I removed all the garments on two evenings: The night of my daughter’s engagement (we knew in advance) and for the wedding.
I have been in lymphedema in therapy, at first several times a week, since 2016. Toward the beginning of my third cancer free year, my oncologist set me up to meet one of the surgeons who performs lymph node transfer procedures (essentially a transplant), with liposuction and bypass surgery. It is a pretty rare surgery performed by only a couple of handfuls of plastic surgeons in the US. I have had three related surgeries. I am compression free about 50% of the time and can wear regular clothes, which is a significant lifestyle improvement.
Surviving a cancer like this creates a chronic medical patient. There is so much follow-up. Endless doctors appointments become part of your life. The worst part for me is that, as my journey began with a Stage I TNBC in 2013 (reoccurrence at Stage 4 was 2015), all but one of my original treatment team has retired and recreating history for new doctors now involved in follow-up for a patient not in active treatment has been a challenge. I have left lung scarring from radiation, reduced lung capacity which shows up on pulmonary function tests. I lose my voice for months as a result of vocal cord radiation scarring if I cough or sneeze more than a few times. The most debilitating effect is the hearing loss.
It’s better than the alternative and I get it. Stay positive. my year 10 begins January 2026.