Alexis was on a business trip at the beginning of 2017 when she felt some pain in her left breast. She didn’t think much of it, as she had just had a doctor’s appointment a few weeks prior, at which everything was completely normal. After experiencing this pain, she went for an ultrasound which eventually led to a diagnosis of stage 4 breast cancer. Alexis came to see Dr. Ann Partridge who runs Dana-Farber’s young women with breast cancer program. Alexis went through 18 rounds of chemotherapy, which while difficult, has not been the most challenging aspect of the disease. The mental aspect has been very challenging – she feels and looks like a different person. Alexis went through 18 rounds of chemotherapy and Alexis has also enrolled in a clinical trial of a targeted drug that inhibits one of the molecular pathways that tumors use to grow. Alexis is a native of Ipswich. She lives in Boston now and works in finance as a national account manager. Today, Alexis is feeling great.

Dr. Partridge can speak to the challenges young women with breast cancer (under 40 years old) face.