Stage 1: 130 Real Stories
130 stories match stage 1. 109 of them mention surgery.
Stage I Breast Cancer: Kevin’s Patient Story
Kevin Jarvis found 2 small, hard lumps under his left nipple while showering in April 2013. After seeing “male breast cancer” during an online search, he made an appointment with his GP when he returned from a family trip. Ultrasound and biopsy confirmed…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret Mullaney was told she might have colorectal cancer immediately after her first colonoscopy, while still sitting in a crowded recovery room. The colonoscopy had been ordered because of symptoms that included blood in the stool, bowel-habit changes…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Patty’s Patient Story
Patty Schone was 63 when a routine mammogram found an abnormality in her left breast. At first, she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, in that breast and was scheduled for a mastectomy. Because Patty had dense breast tissue, her surgeon…
Read this storyStage I EGFR Lung Adenocarcinoma: Julie’s Patient Story
Julie was 42 when a routine mammogram indirectly led to a lung cancer diagnosis. The mammogram showed a calcified blood vessel, so her doctor ordered a calcium score CT scan. That scan found a 3 cm mass in her left lung. A chest CT confirmed it was still…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Rosato Perea learned she had lung cancer only because imaging was ordered before a hysterectomy in late 2020. She had no symptoms and did not think lung cancer could apply to her because she was not a smoker and had no family history. After the MRI…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Vanessa’s Survivor Story
Vanessa Cuccurullo’s Stage I breast cancer story is centered on the long stretch between diagnosis, surgery, reconstruction, and the first clear follow-up. Her age, biomarker status, and exact surgery type were not shared, but her experience was shaped by…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer Survivor Story
This unnamed woman describes life after an early breast cancer diagnosis treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The cancer was identified as Stage I breast cancer, but biomarkers, surgery type, chemotherapy drugs, and radiation details were not…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Karen’s Survivor Story
Karen Powell is an oncology nurse practitioner and menopause specialist who became a breast cancer patient at 39. She was also a mother of 4, with children ages 9, 8-year-old twins, and 3. Karen found the lump by chance when she brushed her hand across it…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Jill’s Survivor Story
Jill was diagnosed with Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma of the left breast in spring 2016. After more than 20 years working on Wall Street, she approached treatment by gathering information and making decisions quickly. Her MSK breast surgeon reviewed her…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Rosanna’s Survivor Story
Rosanna Silber was 31, finishing a doctorate in nursing and planning her wedding, when she noticed a pea-sized lump in her left breast. A local doctor thought it was likely a benign cyst, but Rosanna knew her body and pushed for more testing after returning…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Michelle’s Survivor Story
Michelle Kang was 27 and thriving in a cancer-care administration career when she felt a lump in her right breast during a trip to South Korea. Doctors there seemed unconcerned, but Michelle trusted her instincts and arranged testing back in New York. Imaging…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Tamara’s Patient Story
Tamara Mitchell had already faced other cancers when a routine mammogram in 2019 led to a diagnosis of Stage I breast cancer. She underwent a partial lumpectomy and then received radiation to her left breast. Her breast cancer diagnosis became part of a…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer: Dave’s Survivor Story
In 1998, Dave Bjork experienced pneumonia more than once in the same area of his lung. After the second episode, his doctor ordered a CT scan and found a tumor. Hearing that he had cancer immediately made Dave fear for his life, his insurance coverage and the…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Kristen’s Survivor Story
Kristen Price was 38, running half marathons, working nights in an emergency department, raising two young boys, and completing a master’s program when her family’s experience with colorectal cancer changed everything. Her 41-year-old sister developed…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jen’s Survivor Story
Jen was 55 when an annual mammogram found calcifications in her right breast. Because she had dense breasts, follow-up included a contrast mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. The first diagnosis was ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS. Based on that result, Jen…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Dina’s Patient Story
Dina was preparing for her wedding to Caleb when she felt a lump in her breast and contacted her doctor. The workup moved quickly through several tests, and biopsy confirmed Stage I ER/PR-positive breast cancer. Dina learned the diagnosis on the same day as…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer Patient Story
In 2026, Rosee’s husband was diagnosed with Stage I lung cancer before he had developed symptoms. Testing connected with a life-insurance application showed an elevated carcinoembryonic antigen level, which led to further evaluation and discovery of the…
Read this storyStage I HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Amelia’s Patient Story
Amelia was 40 when Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma was diagnosed. Her cancer was ER-positive, PR-positive, and HER2-negative. She first had an outpatient lumpectomy, but soon learned more surgery would be needed. Because she had a history of breast growths…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Rachel’s Survivor Story
Rachel had lived with digestive issues since she was 10, but after losing more than 100 pounds and feeling healthier, nausea, bloating, and stomach discomfort returned. The symptom that pushed her to seek help was blood in her stool. Her family doctor took…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Rachel’s Patient Story
Rachel’s Stage IB breast cancer was found after she delayed a routine mammogram for about 6 months. She had no symptoms, but 3D mammography showed a suspicious spot in the right breast. Ultrasound confirmed the finding, and biopsy showed infiltrating ductal…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Hugo’s Patient Story
Hugo was 27 and 5 years clear from testicular cancer when a routine colonoscopy led to a second cancer diagnosis. He had mild ulcerative colitis and usually had colonoscopies every 3 years, but he asked to move one up when his bowels began flaring in a way…
Read this storyStage I EGFR Lung Cancer: Shira’s Survivor Story
Shira felt completely healthy. She was a lifelong runner, had no lung symptoms, and almost skipped the full-body MRI her husband kept encouraging her to do. The scan found a lung mass but described it as a minor finding if she had no symptoms. Her father, a…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Timothy’s Survivor Story
Timothy Beckner was 43 and feeling healthy when an unexpected illness led to a colon cancer diagnosis. After returning from a family vacation in May 2025, he developed stomach issues and a fever. Emergency evaluation found salmonella and mild diverticulitis…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer: Taylor’s Survivor Story
Taylor was 21 and a former Division I college soccer player when persistent symptoms kept being dismissed. She first struggled with numbness and tingling in her toes and could not pass a required fitness test, but testing did not explain it. About a year…
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