Stage 4: 492 Real Stories
492 stories match stage 4. 319 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: April’s Patient Story
April Donaldson was 40 when she found 4 lumps along the side of her left breast in January 2020, only months after a normal mammogram. Around the same time, she received genetic testing results showing she was BRCA1 positive. Biopsy confirmed triple-negative…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Colorectal Cancer: Brian’s Patient Story
Brian Beck was 54 when a positive at-home stool screening test led to colonoscopy and the discovery of a tumor in his sigmoid colon. Follow-up scans showed that the cancer had spread to his liver, making it Stage IV. Brian first had colon surgery to remove…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Danielle’s Patient Story
Danielle Archer was 40 when worsening constipation, abdominal pain, and a feeling that something was off led to a colonoscopy and endoscopy on December 31, 2018. During the colonoscopy, doctors found a bleeding 7-centimeter mass in the upper sigmoid area…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Trevor’s Patient Story
Trevor Maxwell was about 40 when fatigue became impossible to ignore. Through 2017 and early 2018, he became more tired, and eventually walking up stairs made his heart pound. Blood work showed significant anemia, and his doctor sent him for a colonoscopy. On…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Britney’s Patient Story
Britney Beadle was 18 and still in high school when she found a breast lump in February 2015. An ultrasound and mammogram were arranged, but she was told 18-year-olds do not get breast cancer. A few months later, the lump had grown and her nipple inverted…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Brittney’s Patient Story
Brittney Beadle was 18 and still in high school when she found a lump in her right breast in February 2015. An ultrasound and mammogram showed a mass, but she was told that 18-year-olds did not get breast cancer. Three months later, the lump had grown and her…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jason’s Survivor Story
This Patient Story video is a survivorship discussion with 2 colorectal cancer survivors, Jason Randall and Amy Hart, focused on living with an ostomy. Jason describes himself as a Stage IV colorectal cancer survivor who was almost 5 years into the experience…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Fadia’s Survivor Story
Fadia was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 32. At the beginning, she did not fully understand what the diagnosis meant, but she chose patience and leaned on the people around her. Her first breast cancer treatment journey lasted 3 years. During that…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Gene’s Survivor Story
Gene Jones was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in 1993, early in the year he turned 51. He had stomach problems and could not go to the bathroom, and colonoscopy could not get past a large tumor that was almost completely blocking his large intestine…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Michelle’s Patient Story
Michelle Cappel was first diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer in 2017. Initial treatment included chemotherapy and curative-intent surgery, and she reached no evidence of disease for about 2.5 years. As she approached the 3-year mark, she developed a…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Michelle’s Survivor Story
Michelle Cappel was a 40-year-old fifth-grade teacher when years of chronic constipation, bloating, and worsening abdominal pain finally led to a Stage IV colorectal cancer diagnosis. Her symptoms had been blamed on antidepressants, possible celiac disease…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jason’s Survivor Story
Jason Randall was diagnosed with Stage IV sigmoid colon cancer on July 17, 2018, after severe abdominal pain and bowel obstruction symptoms led to imaging. About 80% of his liver was covered with metastatic disease, and his sigmoid colon was fully blocked, so…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Bart’s Survivor Story
Bart Wilson was 37 when lower abdominal pain and blood in his stool led to a colonoscopy in January 2020. Doctors found a large tumor blocking much of his colon, and he needed emergency surgery. The next day, he learned he had Stage IV colon cancer that had…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Abigail’s Patient Story
Abigail Myers was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2014, just over a year after the birth of her son. Testing showed triple-positive disease, with estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors. Her initial treatment included a double mastectomy, radiation…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer Survivor Story
This woman’s Stage IV colorectal cancer story is about the gap between how someone looks in public and what cancer can feel like in private. People told her she looked good and did not look sick, but she was also living with a colostomy bag and the hidden…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Tiffany’s Patient Story
Tiffany was a labor and delivery nurse, Pilates instructor, wife, and mother of twins when shortness of breath and right-sided pain led to a long diagnostic workup during the pandemic. A bronchoscopy was followed by a collapsed lung and hospital stay. Imaging…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Carmen’s Survivor Story
Carmen Susman was active and felt healthy when urinary symptoms unexpectedly led to a Stage IV colorectal cancer diagnosis. In November 2021, he had a renal ultrasound to check for kidney stones. Instead, the test found a mass on his liver. Follow-up tests…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Lesley’s Patient Story
Lesley Glenn was first diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer. Soon afterward, doctors found that the cancer had spread to her bones, changing the diagnosis to Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. The shift was heartbreaking and left her feeling that some…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer Patient Story
Leslie became a caregiver in January 2020, when her husband was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. Over the next 1,079 days, their family lived through the strain of advanced cancer care while continuing to look for options that could help him. He tried…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Langley’s Patient Story
Langley Perer was 35 when she was diagnosed in 2017 with ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS. Genetic testing showed that she had inherited a BRCA mutation, and she underwent a double mastectomy in Los Angeles. In 2020, Langley began feeling generally unwell…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: JJ’s Patient Story
JJ was 27 when months of stomach pain led to an initial Stage II / borderline Stage III colon cancer diagnosis. Surgery removed about 80% of his colon and about 36 inches of small intestine because of how the tumor had grown. He also received 6 rounds of…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: JJ’s Patient Story
JJ Singleton was 27 and had been working hard to get healthier when abdominal symptoms began around Memorial Day 2015. He felt throbbing pain, became extremely tired, had trouble eating and using the bathroom, and was losing about 5 pounds a week. By…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Anna’s Patient Story
Anna, 67, went for a checkup after noticing a lump growing in her armpit and was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. She did not seek a second opinion, choosing instead to follow her doctor’s recommendation. The diagnosis made her feel disappointed…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Aria’s Patient Story
Aria, 57, sought medical care after noticing an ulcer on her breast. She also had redness, irritation, thickening of part of the breast, and a change in the shape of the affected breast. In October 2023, she was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. Cancer…
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