Dominique Bieger survived breast cancer | letrozole | aromatase inhibitor | sentinel node | necrosis
DESCRIPTION
In 2024, Dominique Bieger knew something was wrong when she felt a tickling, biting sensation in her left breast. After a series of mammograms, an echogram, an ultrasound and a vacuum assisted biopsy, she learned she had invasive ductal carcinoma, or breast cancer. She would have to get a quadrant of the cancerous breast surgically removed. Dominique was happy to learn she could avoid chemotherapy, instead for hormonal treatment, featuring letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor. The letrozole left her hands, her feet and joints in severe pain. She went off the letrozole and is investigating another post-surgery regimen. Much of the pain is gone, leaving Dominique free to pursue a career as a chef.
When Dominique noticed this irritating sensation in her left breast, she did not immediately seek medical attention. Because various cousins had been diagnosed with the BRCA mutation, in 2019, Dominique underwent a mammogram which showed she did not have the mutation. She underwent another mammogram in 2023, which again showed her breasts to be cancer-free.
However, she had another mammogram done in 2025, along with a vacuum assisted biopsy. Days later, the hospital called her and asked her to come in. When she did, she was told she had invasive ductal carcinoma in a quadrant of her left breast, and the cancer had to be removed.
After a successful surgical procedure, Dominique was told she would not have to be put on chemotherapy. Instead, a hormonal regimen would suffice. Its primary ingredient was letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor. She also underwent fifteen rounds of radiation treatment.
Dominique said the letrozole was very difficult as it resulted in pain in her hands, feet and joints. At times, it also made her depressed. To make matters worse, her work was done on the computer, and she was in too much pain to work. However, Dominique said she was able to stay mentally and emotionally because she has always been independent and always been tough.
Dominique Bieger is off the letrozole. She and her care team and trying to craft a regimen that will be effective without resulting in so much pain.
By way of advice, Dominique says if your doctor suggests a certain schedule for you to get a mammogram, to follow that schedule. It can make the difference between staying in front of breast cancer and getting a diagnosis.
Additional Resources:
Dominique’s YouTube channel:
Dominique’s LinkedIn profile:
TRANSCRIPT
Bruce Morton: Greetings. This is the @CancerInterviews podcast and I am your host, prostate cancer survivor Bruce Morton. Our guest on this episode has survived breast cancer, but she has a positive vibe for anyone who will watch or listen, through her podcast and her artwork. She is Dominique Bieger of Milan, Italy, she has a terrific story tell and now is the time to hear it. Dominique, welcome to cancer Interviews.
Dominique Bieger: Hello, Bruce. Thank you for having me.
BM: We want to start out by learning more about you, Dominique. Before we get to your cancer journey, we would like to hear about where you are from, what you have done for work and what you like to do for fun.
DB: I am a 52-year-old single woman. I don’t have children, but I live in Milan, not far away from where my mom lives. I have a multi-cultural background, several languages spoken since my early childhood and this is basically what I work with, with communication and teaching languages, translating languages, interviews, and writing. I have also enrolled in a European Union-funded culinary program, so I am becoming a chef now, hopefully.
BM: For all of us who have been on a cancer journey, there was that point in time in which our health went from seeming normal to abnormal. In your case, when did you notice something unusual about your health?
DB: I had noticed something wasn’t right in 2024 when I noticed something tickling or biting in my left breast. It felt like a little rodent biting from time to time. It felt weird, but I didn’t investigate further.
BM: So, you didn’t seek medical attention right away?
DB: No, I did not. Mine was caught very early because of my hypersensitivity with my breasts. That is a history that goes back to 2018. Various cousins in the United States had the BRCA mutation and had been diagnosed with breast cancer. They said I should get checked to see if I have the mutation. It is pretty expensive to be checked for BRCA if you have not already been diagnosed. In 2019, I did this mutation test, and it was perfect. I felt on the safe side. Then in 2023, I got a mammogram because in Italy, a woman is entitled to a free mammogram every two years. I participated and they found something in my right breast, but I had a clear mammogram and I felt safe. They told me to not wait two years, and to return in 2024, that I had a risk level that necessitated a mammogram every year. So, in 2025, I would have had the mammogram in April. I skipped it, thinking I didn’t need a mammogram every year. In the meanwhile, I had to have another surgery unrelated to my breasts in any way. Then I started my culinary training program, but the day before I started, I underwent a mammogram because they kept calling me. After the mammogram, I started the class and the day after that, they called me again, but because my attention was on the class, I ignored the call. After the third or fourth day of the class, I called back. I was speaking to the hospital, and they said there was something wrong.
BM: By the way, we hope you will find time to like and subscribe to our channel. And if you click on the bell icon, you will be notified whenever we post an interview. We also want to say that on Cancer Interviews, we are not distributors of medical advice. If you or a loved seek medical advice, please contact a licensed health care professional.
And speaking of licensed health care professionals, Dominique, that is what you did, you returned their call, and when you spoke to them, what were you told?
DB: They said they would like me to undergo another mammogram, a more detailed one to make sure everything is all right, but it had to be done in a bigger hospital. So, I had this second mammogram done, with an echogram and an ultrasound. The mammogram was definitive, but they still wouldn’t tell me what was going on but told me to make an appointment for a vacuum assisted biopsy, but they still weren’t telling me that much. I didn’t feel at ease with the way I was being informed about things, so I took things into my own hands, and contacted a cancer-only treatment center. I contacted a surgeon there. That is where things unfolded pretty quickly. A few weeks later I had the diagnosis. They said I had invasive ductal carcinoma, and we need to get it removed.
BM: I have to ask because each type of cancer is different in this area. Regarding treatment options, did you have many?
DB: First, they said there were treatment options. For example, sometimes one would get hormonal treatment before doing any surgical intervention or even radiation, but they said they needed to have a quadrant removed. Then there could be a combination of chemotherapy and radiation or just radiation, so in terms of options, yes and no. So, basically the options I had before surgery were the same options as I had after surgery, so basically the same.
BM: So, you have a treatment regimen. If you would, describe that regimen.
DB: The treatment regimen after surgery, because they caught it very early, they removed two sentinel nodes. The issue was they grown very fast, they said it was growing so fast, there was necrosis, that the cancer was destroying itself in some areas and had already obstructed these ductal areas in the breast, even though it was in an early stage. It was aggressive, so I had an oncotype test done, where the material is sent to the US. It came back telling me I was still a borderline case for chemotherapy, but it said chemotherapy and hormonal therapy would be more or less the same. I said let’s skip the chemotherapy, and opt for letrozole. I also had radiation, fifteen sessions, then I started letrozole. My issue was I already suffered from osteoporosis and letrozole is already known for having a bad impact on the bones. I also have to take shots for the osteoporosis, and Vitamin D and I have further issues with letrozole.
BM: And what is the toughest part about the letrozole?
DB: In my case, first of all, it felt great. I didn’t know what people were complaining about, I am feeling fine. Then things started to take another turn. It really almost attacked my joints, my hands and my feet. In June 2026, I could barely walk and I could barely work at the computer. There was no way I could afford to not use my hands and my feet. So, we had to stop letrozole for a month and I have to take something for my joints. In a sense I am square one because I will need to take something other than letrozole because it was causing depression, it was affecting my mood in a bad way, but the worst things were the feet and the hands.
BM: Dominique, in some part you have answered this. You have talked about the pain from letrozole and the depression it caused, but from a mental and emotional perspective, how difficult was it to stay strong?
DB: There were some moments when I wasn’t strong, but I had to stay strong because I had to face much of this journey alone, or having to rely on my mom and her partner and she was almost eighty years old, but they drove me to the surgery. However, I wasn’t geographically close to friends to whom I could have shared my sad stories, so I was facing this basically on my own. I got back to the basics, I am a Christian, so I have my faith, so to me, that helps me. I really relied on my mom, my brother and some friends, so it was back to the basics and that helped, but I am a single woman, and I am used to being tough. I have been independent all my life, so I knew I would get through that.
BM: Now, are you able to pursue your culinary aspirations in full or are you restricted in any way?
DB: Right now I am restricted because of the pain in my joints, but because I plan to pursue another option other than letrozole and I think that will get my through, because my arm is okay, including the side where the quadrant was removed and I can lift weights, and that should be okay. I am leaning toward being a pasty chef, which does not involve so much in the way of lifting, so that is good. I am trying for something lighter so it will be less impactful on the bones.
BM: You have mentioned your podcast, but you have also engaged in artwork. How therapeutic is that?
DB: It is therapeutic. I have been trying to create art with AI. Instead of creating with physical elements, I create it with AI, and let’s see what happens.
BM: And tell us a little bit about your podcast.
DB: My current podcast is called Small Wonders and as the author, I call myself Dominique Jolie. I started in 2025 and I wanted to show how you can find small wonders in your surroundings, small, little excursions that can lead to wonderful spots.
BM: And we will have links and information about your social media contributions on the Description and Show Notes below. Now, Dominque, we are going to wrap up, and we will close the way we usually do with the following question. If you encountered someone who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer, they might have lots of questions and you would have lots of answers. But if there any one point you wanted to make sure the other person remembered after you concluded your conversation, what would it be?
DB: In my case, it would be not to skip the mammograms. If someone tells you that you should have your mammogram done every year, get your mammogram done every year. I had the mammogram done in 2025 and the cancer grew so fast from nothing. The quadrant they had to remove was quite big, so you really have to do them. Just go. Go and do the mammogram.
BM: Excellent. All right, Dominique, that is going to conclude this episode, and we want to thank you for your story. Thank you very much for being with us on Cancer Interviews.
DB: Thank you, Bruce. Thank you.
BM: And we want to remind you as we always do when we complete an episode that if you or a loved one are on a cancer journey, you are not alone. There are individuals like Dominque Bieger wo have wise words that can ease the cancer journey. So, until next time, we’ll see you down the road.
Additional Resources:
Dominique’s YouTube channel:
Dominique’s LinkedIn profile:
SHOW NOTES
Dominique Bieger Rough Draft
TITLE: Dominique Bieger, Breast Cancer Survivor – Milan, Italy
In 2024, Dominique Bieger knew something was wrong when she felt a tickling, biting sensation in her left breast. After a series of mammograms, an echogram, an ultrasound and a vacuum assisted biopsy, she learned she had invasive ductal carcinoma, or breast cancer. She would have to get a quadrant of the cancerous breast surgically removed. Dominique was happy to learn she could avoid chemotherapy, instead for hormonal treatment, featuring letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor. The letrozole left her hands, her feet and joints in severe pain. She went off the letrozole and is investigating another post-surgery regimen. Much of the pain is gone, leaving Dominique free to pursue a career as a chef.
Additional Resources:
Dominique’s YouTube channel:
Dominque’s LinkedIn profile:
Time Stamps:
03:10 Dominique initially noticed a biting sensation in her left breast.
10:04 She contacted a hospital after getting a mammogram in 2025.
12:02 Dominique contacted a surgeon at a cancer-only facility, which led to her diagnosis.
13:49 Describes her treatment regimen.
16:35 Names the toughest part of letrozole.
18:54 How she stayed mentally and emotionally strong.
27:44 Dominique’s advice to those diagnosed with breast cancer.
KEYWORDS (tags):
invasive ductal carcinoma
letrozole
brca mutation
echogram
aromatase inhibitor
vacuum assisted biopsy
sentinode nodes
necrosis
oncotype test
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