Stage 4: 492 Real Stories
492 stories match stage 4. 319 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Alisa’s Patient Story
Alisa Secaida was 35 when cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, chest tightness and shoulder pain were dismissed as asthma or long COVID. She paid for her own CT scan, which showed a mass in the upper left lung, and later biopsy confirmed Stage IVB non-small…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Natasha’s Patient Story
Natasha, a primary school teacher from Yorkshire, England, was diagnosed with EGFR-positive lung cancer in January 2023 after months of cough, hoarse voice, and squeaky breathing. She was active and had never expected lung cancer, especially as a nonsmoker…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was 22 when a breast lump, initially treated as an infection, was confirmed as cancer. Further imaging found a small rib lesion that shrank with chemotherapy, showing that the disease had already spread and making the diagnosis stage 4. She received…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Esteban’s Survivor Story
Esteban Moreno pursued genetic testing after his father was diagnosed with colon cancer. The testing showed that Esteban had Lynch syndrome, and a routine colonoscopy then found a malignant tumor. Further evaluation showed that the cancer had already…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Crystal’s Survivor Story
Crystal had noticed blood in her stool for years and believed it was hemorrhoids. In 2022, symptoms became harder to ignore. Severe abdominal pain and recurring urinary tract infections pushed her to seek medical care, and a CT scan showed an abnormal mass…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Leah’s Patient Story
Leah Phillips, co-founder of the Young Lung Cancer Initiative, was diagnosed in December 2019 with Stage IV lung cancer carrying an EGFR exon 19 deletion. At diagnosis, her primary tumor was in the right middle lobe of the lung, and she had 13 bone metastases…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Albita’s Patient Story
Albita was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in January 2024 after years of symptoms she had attributed to stress, IBS, or constipation. A colonoscopy found the primary tumor, and scans showed about 3 liver metastases, making the cancer Stage IV. Her team…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Michelle’s Patient Story
Michelle was a 40-year-old 5th-grade teacher when Stage IV colorectal cancer was diagnosed in 2017. For years, she had chronic constipation and bloating, but those symptoms were explained away as medication effects or other issues. Severe pain eventually sent…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kasey’s Patient Story
Kasey was 36 when years of abdominal cramping, mucus in her stool, and later heavy rectal bleeding led to her first colonoscopy in February 2024. She expected an explanation such as hemorrhoids or a fissure, but the gastroenterologist found a large colon mass…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Bill’s Patient Story
Bill was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer just before his 44th birthday. He had noticed blood in his stool for several weeks but initially dismissed it. His wife Lisa, a nurse, urged him to get a colonoscopy. The test found a cancerous tumor in his colon…
Read this storyStage IV ROS1 Lung Adenocarcinoma: Luna’s Patient Story
Luna Okada was 54 when she was diagnosed in December 2012 with Stage IV lung adenocarcinoma. She had just returned from climbing Machu Picchu and had no cough or shortness of breath. Two days after the trip, severe abdominal pain brought her to the emergency…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Stephani’s Survivor Story
Stephani St. Cyr felt a long lump under her right arm while watching a movie at home. Her primary doctor suspected a cyst but referred her to a specialist. The breast cancer doctor immediately suspected cancer, and biopsy confirmed it. Further tests showed…
Read this storyStage IV KRAS Colorectal Cancer: Bill’s Patient Story
Bill was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer at 44 after blood in his stool led to a colonoscopy in May 2020. The cancer had already spread to his liver. At Mayo Clinic, his team planned 6 rounds of chemotherapy near home, followed by combined laparoscopic…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Anne’s Patient Story
Anne Keane was diagnosed in 2016 after pain in her sternum led to testing that found HER2-positive breast cancer already involving her bones and liver. She was a young mother, and learning that the disease was metastatic and incurable was devastating. At 42…
Read this storyStage IV KRAS Lung Cancer: Rosemary’s Patient Story
Rosemary Conway was 60 when she was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2017 after developing a raspy voice and coughing up a small amount of blood. She had never smoked and was an active runner. In September, surgeons removed the lower lobe of her left lung…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Shannin’s Patient Story
Shannin was 26 when months of severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting turned into a Stage IV colon cancer diagnosis. Her symptoms were first dismissed as food intolerance, but she knew something was wrong and kept seeking medical opinions. An urgent care…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Shannin’s Patient Story
Shannin was diagnosed on April 13, 2024, at age 26 with Stage IV metastatic colorectal cancer. Months earlier, she had severe left-lower abdominal pain after eating, nausea, vomiting, and a feeling that stool could not pass. Initial explanations such as food…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Tamara’s Patient Story
Tamara was a 50-year-old oncology infusion nurse when her own cancer was found unexpectedly. She felt healthy and had no major symptoms, but an annual physical showed severe anemia. That result led to a colonoscopy and genetic testing. The testing revealed an…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Tamara’s Patient Story
Tamara was a 50-year-old oncology infusion nurse when a routine physical in November 2023 unexpectedly showed severe anemia and nearly absent iron stores. She had no obvious symptoms, no rectal bleeding, and was still working normally, so the result did not…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Jeff’s Patient Story
Jeff had already survived an unusual cancer experience before his lung cancer diagnosis. In 2017, a painful cervical spine mass was first treated as a likely non-cancerous schwannoma, but surgery showed cancer and could not remove everything safely because of…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Trefzger was diagnosed with colon cancer at 23 in 2017 after years of symptoms and severe iron deficiency. A colonoscopy found a 5 cm tumor blocking her descending colon. She was initially told the cancer was Stage III, but later learned it had…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Sydney’s Patient Story
Sydney Barned was 33 and completing her internal medicine residency when she was diagnosed with Stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer in 2017. She had always been active, including ballet, track, swimming, and 5K runs, so the first sign was subtle but…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Maggie’s Survivor Story
Maggie was applying for a U.S. green card when she was diagnosed in 2022 with de novo Stage IV triple-negative breast cancer. She is from the Netherlands and had planned to move to the United States because her wife is American. Before the diagnosis, she…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Evan’s Patient Story
Evan White was 24 when he was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer in 2017. His sister Jenna lived with him for 2 years during surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation and saw the cumulative side effects of treatment. Evan also turned his experience into…
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