She Thought It Was Just a Minor Injury – Now This 32-Year-Old Mom Has Weeks to Live and Warns Others About the Symptoms

It started with a sharp jolt behind her ribs, then a whisper of redness she nearly ignored. Months later, Lisa Foster was navigating drug trials and end-of-life paperwork. She's now urging others to never ignore the symptoms that often hide in plain sight.

Lisa Foster never imagined that a small lump, which felt no bigger than a pea, could signal the start of a life-altering diagnosis. Like many busy moms, she assumed the discomfort was harmless. But by the time doctors confirmed it was cancer, the d ilisease had already advanced.

Now facing her final weeks, Lisa and her husband Adam are sharing their painful journey in hopes of helping others recognize the signs early. Their message is urgent: cancer doesn't wait for old age, and it doesn't always present itself in the ways you'd expect.

It Felt Like a Pulled Muscle

In June 2023, Lisa noticed a sharp, unexplained pain in her chest. At 30, she was healthy and active, and the discomfort felt more like soreness from a tough workout than anything alarming. Then came a small patch of redness near her breast and a subtle change in her nipple's direction.

Still, nothing about it screamed cancer. When she discovered a lump no bigger than a pea on her left breast, she figured it was inflammation from exercise. She waited a few days, expecting it to fade. It didn't. After a week, Lisa went to her general practitioner.

The doctor referred her to a hospital for tests. That's when her life shifted dramatically. A biopsy revealed she had stage 3 triple-negative ductal sarcoma, a rare and particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. This diagnosis marked the start of a medical marathon that would test the limits of both treatment and time.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for about 15 percent of all breast cancer cases. Unlike most other types, TNBC lacks the hormone receptors that many treatments target. This makes it harder to treat and more likely to spread quickly.

Educating While She Fought

After her diagnosis, Lisa faced the reality of what triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) meant. It wasn't just a diagnosis — it was a race against time. Doctors quickly scheduled a mastectomy to remove her left breast, followed by a series of intensive cancer treatments aimed at stopping the spread.

Each phase felt like both a step forward and a battle for her future. Her treatment plan was aggressive. She began with chemotherapy, which is commonly used to treat early-stage TNBC. This form of breast cancer lacks the estrogen, progesterone, and Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) receptors that other types depend on.

This makes it harder to treat with hormone therapies. That absence of known targets forces oncologists to rely on more generalized approaches like chemotherapy, radiation, and experimental drugs.

After months of treatment, Lisa was scheduled for a scan to determine whether she could start radiotherapy, a therapy that uses high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells. But the disease didn't wait. Before radiotherapy could even begin, doctors discovered that the cancer had advanced.

"She wasn't well enough — the cancer had spread to her chest wall, her right breast, and her liver," her husband Adam recalled. "We were told she was now stage four."

At this point, the statistics grew more sobering. Stage 4 triple-negative breast cancer is incurable. While treatments can prolong life, sometimes for years, only about one in four women with stage 4 breast cancer are expected to survive beyond five years.

Lisa wasn't ready to give up. She tried four different treatment regimens, including enrollment in a drug trial, which offered a glimmer of hope.

Throughout her battle with the illness, Lisa didn't just fight for her life. She used her battle to raise awareness for others. Even while navigating grueling treatments, she turned to social media to warn women about the early signs of breast cancer that she had nearly overlooked herself.

In May 2024, nearly a year after discovering the pea-sized lump in her left breast, Lisa shared two powerful Instagram posts. By then, she was undergoing treatment for stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer, a form of the disease known for its speed and resistance to common therapies.

Her first post, on May 1, listed the subtle but serious symptoms she had experienced at the onset:

• Sharp, random chest pains — even when no lump was present
• A nipple that changed direction and leaked fluid
• A reddish patch on the skin
• A growing mass, which she initially mistook for a muscle strain

She captioned the post, "Symptoms part 1 Triple Negative Breast cancer."

Just weeks later, on May 28, Lisa doubled down on her message with another video labeled, "Breast Cancer Symptoms!! When in doubt check it out." This time, she offered a more clinical breakdown of warning signs:

• Skin thickening or changes in texture
• Nipple changes in direction or color
• A lump about the size of a pea or grape
• Redness and swelling
• Sharp pains in the breast or armpit

Her posts echoed what medical experts have identified as signs of TNBC. According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms can also include:

• A new lump or mass
• Nipple or breast pain
• Nipple discharge or inversion
• Thickened, flaking, or reddened skin
• Swelling in all or part of the breast
• Enlarged lymph nodes under the arm or collarbone

Lisa's message was clear: even the smallest change can be a sign of something serious. Her goal was to reach others while there was still time, hoping her story could keep another woman from facing what she was going through.

Fighting Back and Hitting Walls

Lisa approached her treatment with everything she had. Her doctors held on to cautious optimism, aiming to follow up with radiation therapy if her body could tolerate it.

By early 2025, she was also placed on Enhertu, a targeted cancer therapy typically used in advanced breast cancer cases. On March 7, she shared a health update on Instagram, sounding both hopeful and exhausted.

Alongside a short video clip, she wrote, "Update: I'm ok! Plan is stay [sic] on Enhertu if CT scan still shows it working and radiotherapy to zap naughty cells 🙏 hopefully it works as unfortunately I'm in pain... Cancer, I'll keep fighting you."

But for Lisa, time was slipping away. In June 2025, her doctors told her that the next available chemotherapy treatment had only a nine percent chance of working. And then came the words that no one wants to hear: she had around two weeks left to live.

Her Last Post and a Legacy in Motion

On June 5, 2025, just days after learning her time was limited, Lisa wrote what she believed might be her final public message. In it, she thanked those who had stood by her and made it clear she would be stepping away from social media to spend what time remained with her loved ones.

"This is probably one of the last posts I'll be putting on social media," she wrote. "Although my family may put something when the time comes. Unfortunately, my liver is failing me and I'm not sure how long I have got left to live."

The post continued, "I want to thank each and every one of you who has guided/supported me through this journey. I value each and every one of you and I will always have fond memories of our time together. The cancer hasn't won the fight. It dies with me and I will fight for as long as I can."

Lisa also asked for privacy, requesting that messages be sent via Messenger or WhatsApp, though she couldn't promise replies. "Spending time with my family is priority," she wrote. Her words, while heartbreaking, carried strength and clarity. She was not giving up, but she was letting go.

A Mother's Final Wish

Adam has remained at her side through every hospital stay, every test result, and every hard decision. The couple, together since they were 15, share a 4-year-old daughter named Elena, the center of Lisa's world.

As Lisa's health declined, loved ones launched a GoFundMe campaign intending to give her the send-off she deserved. The campaign also seeks to fulfill one of her most personal wishes: to have her ashes turned into memorial jewelry for her daughter, so Elena can carry a piece of her mother always.

As of June 13, more than $6,700 has been raised toward the $7,670 goal. The money will also help cover funeral expenses, easing the burden on Adam as he prepares to parent Elena through the unthinkable.

"She is not giving up yet," the page reads, "and it is at times like these we need to pull together… to enjoy their time together."

Lisa's story has reached thousands, not just because of how young she is, or how rare her cancer was, but because she chose to speak out even as her own time was running short.

In a final act of generosity, she documented every symptom, shared every setback, and made sure that no woman would ever have to say they didn't know what to look for.

"We want people to know that cancer can affect anyone at any age," Adam emphasized. "Lisa is a young mum who thought she just had a gym injury."

Triple-negative breast cancer is not only rare. It's fast-moving and harder to treat. It affects approximately 13 in every 100,000 women in the U.S., and unlike other types, it lacks the receptors that allow hormone therapies to work. For patients like Lisa, that means fewer options and a more uncertain future.

But Lisa's future, however short, has meaning. Through her openness, she's helping rewrite the way women think about breast cancer. Not as something distant or unlikely, but as a reality that can come quietly, masked as a harmless ache or a gym strain.

And as her family prepares for the coming days, they're not just saying goodbye. They're honoring her wish to leave something lasting behind — stories, memories, and a message that might save a life.