headshot of Laura Rosenberger, MD
Laura Rosenberger, MD

Helping Advance Phyllodes Tumor Research

Outdoors with groom, bride, and bride's grandparents posing
Karen Kump (right), with her family at her granddaughter's wedding. (Left to right: Elliot Williams, Natalie Williams, Jake Kump, Karen Kump)

Karen Kump of Elko, Nevada, knew the lump on her right breast should be checked by a doctor when she first noticed it in July 2022. “But my granddaughter was getting married, and I wanted the attention to be on her,” she said. Kump, 78, didn’t know the mass was a rare type of breast cancer called a phyllodes tumor. Within two months, Kump needed a mastectomy because it had grown so big, so fast. Now, the retired schoolteacher is participating in phyllodes tumor research at Duke Health. “I’m hoping others might benefit from what I went through,” she said.

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