Stage 2: 191 Real Stories
191 stories match stage 2. 165 of them mention surgery.
Stage II Colorectal Cancer: Allison’s Survivor Story
Allison was 32 and living with Crohn’s disease when she noticed symptoms that felt different from her usual bowel issues. She had weight loss, severe fatigue, increased blood in her stool, and a sensation that food was getting stuck inside her. Because she…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Kara’s Patient Story
Kara Wutzke considered herself to be in the best shape of her life when persistent gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, and irregular bowel movements began to interfere with how she felt. As a health and fitness professional, she first examined her diet and…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Jay’s Survivor Story
Jay McCoy was 48 when a scheduled executive physical and routine colonoscopy unexpectedly found Stage II colon cancer. His wife, a family medicine physician, arranged the colonoscopy because screening recommendations had shifted to begin at age 45. During the…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Paula’s Patient Story
Paula found a strange lump in her right breast and was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She had no other symptoms. The diagnosis was shocking and left her confused, worried, surprised, and vulnerable, although her doctor’s guidance also gave her some…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chantal’s Survivor Story
Chantal was 24 and already knew she carried a BRCA1 mutation when she felt a sudden painful lump during a beach trip. Just 1 month earlier, her preventive MRI had looked normal. Because the lump was visible and clearly new, she sought testing quickly. Biopsy…
Read this storyStage II MSI-High Colorectal Cancer: Shannon’s Survivor Story
Shannon was 29 when severe pain after eating eventually led to a Stage IIA colon cancer diagnosis. The pain began in late 2014 and was first treated as an ulcer, then linked to gallbladder problems. Her gallbladder was removed in January 2015, but the pain…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan’s Survivor Story
Megan-Claire Chase was diagnosed with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer after symptoms such as green bruises, brittle hair, sudden weight gain, and a left-breast mass. Her doctors later believed the cancer may have been growing for 8 to 10 years and had…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan-Claire’s Survivor Story
Megan-Claire Chase was 39 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIA invasive lobular breast cancer. Years before diagnosis, she had a strong family history of cancer and was already watching her body closely. A preventive mammogram at 35 was read as clear, but…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan-Claire’s Survivor Story
Megan-Claire, also known as Warrior Meg, expected cancer might come from the ovarian or cervical cancer patterns in her family. Instead, she was diagnosed with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer shortly after turning 39. Earlier, a preventive mammogram…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Cynthia’s Survivor Story
Cynthia Jordan had normal mammograms for 13 years and no symptoms, even while a walnut-sized tumor was growing in her breast. She had dense breasts but had not been educated about what that meant or why supplemental screening could matter. In 2018, a…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Cynthia’s Survivor Story
Cynthia Jordan never missed her annual mammogram, but dense breast tissue made her cancer difficult to find. In 2018, a mammogram showed an architectural distortion, and follow-up imaging and biopsy led to a diagnosis of Stage IIB invasive ductal carcinoma…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Wendy’s Survivor Story
Two weeks after turning 50, Wendy Tamis Robbins learned she had Stage II colon cancer. Severe iron depletion found during a routine physical led to her first colonoscopy, which found a large cancerous tumor. Wendy underwent surgery to remove the tumor and a…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Stephanie’s Survivor Story
Stephanie Tufano was 38, a running coach and health coach, and training for her second ultramarathon when she began having unusual symptoms. She noticed stomach pains, trouble catching her breath and a rapid heartbeat. A physician friend encouraged her to get…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Lung Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine’s lung cancer was found during treatment for a separate Stage III triple-positive breast cancer. Extensive testing for the breast cancer included scans of the liver, brain, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and reproductive organs. A lung nodule was seen, but…
Read this storyStage II Lung Cancer: Christine’s Patient Story
Christine was 31 and already in treatment for breast cancer when a second cancer was found unexpectedly. Imaging during her breast cancer care showed a lung finding, even though she had no lung symptoms. At first, the finding was treated as possibly…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Amanda’s Survivor Story
Amanda was 29 when light IBS-like symptoms and blood in her stool began. She immediately asked whether it could be colon cancer, but was told it was probably hemorrhoids, a fissure, grief, anxiety, or stress. Her symptoms persisted for almost a year. Blood…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Tara’s Survivor Story
Tara was 50 when routine breast imaging found invasive lobular carcinoma. She had dense breast tissue and a history of many mammogram call-backs, so screening had often been difficult to interpret. Shortly after her 50th birthday in August 2022, a routine…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Renée’s Patient Story
Renée first had cancer at 18, when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Treatment had to move too quickly for fertility preservation, and she was told it would likely cause infertility. She received intensive chemotherapy, total-body radiation, and…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy’s Patient Story
Lucy was diagnosed with breast cancer 3 days after her 24th birthday. Her risk was already personal: her mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer twice and, after the second diagnosis, learned she carried a BRCA1 mutation. Lucy then had genetic testing…
Read this storyStage II HER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Lanie’s Patient Story
Lanie Jones had already survived adrenal carcinoma as a toddler when she found a breast lump in July 2008, shortly before starting nursing school. At first, she delayed the ultrasound because she was 24 and could not imagine having cancer again. When the lump…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Angelina’s Patient Story
Angelina, 56, sought medical help after a lump in her breast kept growing. She was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer and was told her 5-year survival rate was 95%. Her doctors recommended a treatment regimen that included DIEP mastectomy, chemotherapy…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Maiv’s Patient Story
Maiv noticed a slightly raised area and then dimpling in her left breast while losing weight. She contacted her general practitioner quickly and was referred for examination, mammography, ultrasound, and biopsy. About two weeks later, in approximately June…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Anne’s Patient Story
Anne, 53, learned she had Stage II breast cancer in September 2023 after a mammogram showed an abnormality that needed more testing. She was already working in Taoyuan, so she completed additional tests at another hospital. After researching her diagnosis…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Amanda’s Survivor Story
Amanda was 71 when a black spot noticed during a routine check led to further investigation. A mammogram confirmed stage 2 breast cancer. The diagnosis brought fear, helplessness and worry, but she trusted her medical team and followed the recommended…
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