Stage 2: 191 Real Stories
191 stories match stage 2. 165 of them mention surgery.
Stage II Breast Cancer: Cherie’s Survivor Story
Cherie was 64 when her family doctor advised her to have a mammogram because of her age. She had also been experiencing breast pain. Testing led to a stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis. The treatment decisions made her feel motivated, although she remained…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Clement’s Patient Story
Clement sought medical care after vomiting blood and noticing blood in his stool. The evaluation led to a diagnosis of Stage II colorectal cancer. He described the diagnosis as an emotional shock, bringing anger, sadness, fear, and concern about his own…
Read this storyStage II Gastric Cancer: Drew’s Patient Story
Drew sought medical care after experiencing stomach pain, and an endoscopy was recommended in part because gastric cancer had affected other family members. The evaluation confirmed Stage II stomach cancer. Drew later shared that a father and uncle had also…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Jaidive’s Survivor Story
Jaidive was 44 when she was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2020. She had lost both her maternal grandmother and mother to cancer, so finding a suspicious breast mass through self-examination was frightening. A breast cancer specialist confirmed the…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Jenny’s Patient Story
Jenny’s breast cancer was found during a routine health examination in June 2020, when a hard breast lump was detected. She was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. The diagnosis made her fearful about treatment side effects, but she also felt courageous and…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in December 2015 after changes in her left breast were easy to explain away at first. In late 2014, she noticed that her nipple was inverting and that the breast seemed to be shrinking. She was training for…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret’s fuller treatment story starts with the same breast changes she first noticed in late 2014: an inverted nipple and shrinking appearance in the left breast. A standard mammogram did not clearly show cancer, but a later 3D mammogram found the tumor…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Ana’s Survivor Story
Ana was 47 when she noticed a lump in her left breast while showering. Part of the nipple also pulled inward and retracted again when she tried to move it. When referral through her health insurer was taking too long, she sought help from a nonprofit…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Anne-Marie’s Survivor Story
Anne-Marie was diagnosed with Stage II colon adenocarcinoma in June 2019 after a bowel screening program detected the cancer. The diagnosis came after about 12 months of earlier concerns that had been attributed to other causes. A strong family history of…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Cath’s Survivor Story
Cath, 63, was diagnosed with Stage II luminal A breast cancer in May 2019 after a routine 2-yearly mammogram led to more imaging and a biopsy. She had no symptoms, and the cancer was described as ER-positive, PR-positive, and HER2-negative. At first she felt…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Lena’s Patient Story
Lena found a lump during a breast self-examination and went to the hospital for further evaluation. She was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. After considering her doctor’s recommendation and doing her own research, she underwent a lumpectomy to remove…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Emma’s Patient Story
Emma, 48, is from Singapore and was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer after pain in her breast and armpit pushed her to seek medical attention. The diagnosis was shocking and brought sadness, fear, nervousness, worry, and a sense of emptiness. She sought…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Eliza’s Patient Story
A routine mammogram identified a suspicious finding that led to Eliza's diagnosis of stage 2 breast cancer. She initially felt helpless, overwhelmed, frightened, and worried about what lay ahead. Her doctors recommended a lumpectomy, radiation therapy, and…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Jamie’s Patient Story
Jamie Bernard was 32 when she was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2015. She was both an MD Anderson employee and a patient, giving her a view of cancer care from two sides. Jamie underwent a mastectomy and received chemotherapy. After treatment, a…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Ana’s Survivor Story
Ana, 51, was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer after an unexpected workup. She had no family history of cancer and wanted a second opinion because she felt her first doctor had not given her enough information. She also described noticing blood from the…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Roxana’s Patient Story
Roxana Lopez was 25 when she was diagnosed with Stage II invasive ductal carcinoma in her left breast in August 2015. Breast and ovarian cancer had affected several women in her family, including her mother, who died of breast cancer when Roxana and her twin…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Ovarian Cancer: Barb’s Patient Story
In February 2014, at age 50, Barb White underwent a hysterectomy to remove a large suspicious cyst. The surgery confirmed Stage II ovarian cancer, which had spread to her uterus. Three weeks later, she began chemotherapy. Barb had a severe allergic reaction…
Read this storyStage II Ovarian Cancer: Betsy’s Patient Story
Betsy Feldmann was 58 when persistent abdominal pressure led her through visits with four doctors before she was diagnosed with Stage II ovarian cancer. A committed triathlete, she wanted to remain active during treatment and continued swimming, biking…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Tasha’s Patient Story
Tasha’s breast cancer was detected through a mammography study that invited people aged 47-49 to explore whether screening should begin before age 50. The mammogram revealed Stage II breast cancer in July 2017. Doctors recommended breast-conserving surgery…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Natalia’s Survivor Story
Natalia, from Colombia, had a hard, growing lump in her left breast. An early ultrasound found nothing, and three months passed before a mastologist removed the lump and confirmed cancer. Dissatisfied with the information and manner of her first doctor, she…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Sarah’s Patient Story
Sarah Cawley, a 32-year-old physician assistant and mother of 2, first noticed a breast lump while breastfeeding. That lump was a milk cyst, but she was advised to return after breastfeeding ended. At the next visit, another lump was found and monitored…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Breast Cancer: Mariana’s Patient Story
At age 30, this patient found a large lump in her left breast after noticing a brief pain. A mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy led to a Stage II breast cancer diagnosis. Because several relatives had developed cancer at young ages, she was also referred for…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Martha’s Survivor Story
Martha was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer more than a decade ago after the cancer was found during a health examination. She had no symptoms and no family history of breast cancer, so the diagnosis was unexpected. She sought a second opinion while…
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