Supporting Loved Ones With Breast Cancer

Five survivors tell how to help someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Breast Cancer Survivors

Laura Livingston Rubin
Laura was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer three years ago, despite no family history of the disease, after her gynecologist found a lump during a routine exam. Laura underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation and has been cancer-free for three years.

Lizanne Kelley
Lizanne's first mammogram, in 2000, revealed a nut-shaped mass in her right breast. After a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation, she was cancer-free for five years. But the disease came back in 2006, in her spine. Today Lizanne says she's simply "living with cancer."

Beth Weinblatt
Beth was just 29 years old when she felt a lump the size of a peach pit near her breastbone. She was told she had a fast-growing form of stage 2 breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy. Five years later, there is no sign of the disease.

Cathy Scheibe
Cathy was a 20-year survivor of uterine cancer when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. She underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy and was treated with the drug Herceptin for about a year. She is currently cancer-free.

Angela Agbasi
Angela found a lump in her breast in 2001, while she was pregnant with her fourth child. Diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, she delivered her son four weeks early and immediately underwent a radical mastectomy and chemotherapy. More than six years later, she is cancer-free.