When Patricia was diagnosed with breast cancer just days after giving birth, research gave her a clear plan and hope for the future
Just 20 days after giving birth to her son, first-time mom Patricia Flores dressed up to celebrate a major life milestone: 14 years with her husband, Jose. But first, there was a quick doctor’s appointment to go over biopsy results—nothing she was too concerned about. She was 32 and healthy. It was probably nothing.
But minutes into the appointment, it became clear that wasn’t the case. She remembers the doctor telling her that she didn’t have good news. Patricia had breast cancer.
“I just remember looking at my husband and seeing the life drain out of his eyes,” she said.
Rather than going out for a celebratory dinner as planned, the couple drove around for three hours, crying the entire time.
“That night was the longest night,” she said.
The news came as a shock to Patricia, who had first noticed a lump in her right breast just a few weeks earlier at 36 weeks pregnant. She mentioned it during a routine medical appointment, only to be told it was not something that needed investigating, given that she was relatively young, had no history of cancer, and was going through a lot of changes from pregnancy. Even her mom reassured her that it was probably just her milk coming in.
But once her son, Nico, was born in October, a lactation consultant agreed that something didn’t feel right in Patricia’s breast. From there, things moved quickly. Her OB/GYN referred her to a breast surgeon, who ordered a biopsy—all within 10 days of giving birth. Soon after that, Patricia was diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer that was positive for both HER2 and hormone receptors.
Her future as a mom felt uncertain until her oncologist laid out a treatment plan the very next day. Holding her hand, the doctor told her that the road ahead would be long, but that she was not going to die.
“He said there is a medicine, Herceptin, that targets that type of cancer,” she says.
Starting a month to the day after her son was born, she began treatment: a combination of Herceptin and Perjeta, plus six rounds of chemotherapy. Physically, Patricia tolerated chemo better than she expected. While she felt a bit sick on the third day after every treatment, she was mostly able to continue life as normal. Once chemotherapy was over, Patricia underwent a double mastectomy. Her husband became her nurse, caring for her through the most difficult stretch of recovery.
“He did everything for me,” she remembered. “I couldn’t stand up, I had to sleep sitting up, and everything hurt.”
While dealing with the pain was hard, losing her breasts—and eventually her hair—was devastating for Patricia.
“I never felt sick until I saw myself in the mirror,” she said, adding that she had reconstructive surgery a year later. “I barely have pictures with my kid from when he was little because I didn’t want to remember that part of my life. It took two years for me to feel comfortable being naked in front of the mirror and my husband.”
With surgery behind her, Patricia returned to work as store manager at LOFT in Orlando, Florida, and braced herself for the next leg of treatment: 26 rounds of radiation. She’d head right to her radiation appointments nearly every evening after her shift ended. By the time she finally got home every night, she was spent.
“Those were long days,” she said. “I remember lying in bed, crying, waiting for all this to be over.”
Patricia continued to get Herceptin and Perjeta infusions for a year. Because of her age and hormone status, her doctors also recommended she complete a five-year course of Tamoxifen, which put her in early menopause.
Navigating breast cancer treatment and the demands of work and parenting was exhausting. Looking back, she wishes she had had a therapist on her care team.
“No matter the type, cancer is like a cloud that swallows your soul,” said Patricia. “Looking back, I needed therapy because it took me so long to recover. I still cry about it.”
One thing that helped, though, was focusing on the positive—something she committed to when she started chemotherapy. At work, she found comfort in LOFT’s longtime partnership with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which helped her feel seen and supported.
“Supporting breast cancer research is important to me because it’s not just about finding a cure,” she said. “It’s about giving people hope, time, and a better quality of life. Research is helping advance earlier detection, more effective treatments, and higher survival rates. Supporting research is a way of honoring those who have fought breast cancer and contributing to a future where fewer people have to face that battle.”
But most of all, it was Nico who gave her purpose through the hardest days.
“I knew one day I would sit down with him and tell him my story. He was my motivation,” she said.
Patricia finished treatment in 2023, feeling like a new version of herself. She has a deeper appreciation for her life and loved ones and focuses on the present.
“The person who comes out of breast cancer is a new person. I was always a great person, but I’m a better person because of cancer,” she said. “I’ve learned how to let go and live in the moment.”
Now, Patricia is taking a year off of work to focus on her emotional healing, take care of her body, and spend time with her energetic seven-year-old, who calls her a “superhero.”
Patricia credits research for paving the way forward—from her very first treatment plan to the life she’s living now.
“Everything was planned for me, so I felt like I saw the light and that I was on the right path,” she said. “The reason I’m here right now is because of research.”
Read more stories from BCRF’s Research Is the Reason storytelling initiative here.
