Stage 4: 492 Real Stories
492 stories match stage 4. 319 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: Anna’s Patient Story
Anna Rusch was 71 when she described living with colon cancer and a permanent end stoma. About 3 years earlier, she noticed blood in her stool and went to a doctor, who first thought hemorrhoids were the cause. Only after a friend urged her to seek another…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Petra’s Patient Story
Petra Thomas was 32 when she described life 2 years after being diagnosed with Stage III rectal cancer. Blood in her stool first appeared about 9 months before diagnosis, but she was initially reassured that she was too young for cancer and probably had…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Emil’s Patient Story
Emil Groh was 56 when he described living with end-stage rectal cancer that had spread to the lungs and liver. About 1.5 years earlier, blood in his stool and major weight loss led him to medical care. Blood tests prompted hospital admission, and colonoscopy…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Erna’s Survivor Story
Erna Hettich was 72 when she described rectal cancer in the context of a strong family history of colorectal cancer. During a vacation, she noticed blood in her stool and frequent bowel movements, even though her yearly occult-blood test had not shown…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Manuela’s Patient Story
Manuela Weber was 63 when she described living with metastatic breast cancer. Her first breast cancer was diagnosed in 2000 after a lump led to mammography and biopsy. Cancer was found in both breasts, but no lymph node involvement was described. Both breasts…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Tova’s Patient Story
Tova Goldblum was 60 when she described a breast cancer diagnosis that had begun in 1992. At that time, doctors advised removal of the breast. Living in Germany far from her family, she felt very alone with the diagnosis and the treatment decisions. Lists of…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jordan’s Patient Story
Jordan McConahay was 28 when stomach pain sent her to a walk-in clinic after only 2 days of symptoms. She expected something minor. Instead, testing found a mass in her colon, and the cancer had already spread to her liver and lungs. Her colon was nearly…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jutta’s Patient Story
Jutta Groß was 47, a single mother of 2, and already familiar with hereditary colorectal cancer risk. At 19, because of familial adenomatous polyposis and many colon polyps, her colon was removed and the small intestine was connected to the sphincter. She…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Richard’s Survivor Story
Richard Linde was 61, married, and a father of 2 when he described colorectal cancer diagnosed 2 years earlier. He had not felt generally ill. The warning sign was repeated blood in his stool, which led him to contact his family doctor after 3 days…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Sebastian’s Patient Story
Sebastian Siemens was 49, married, a father, and self-employed as an electrician when metastatic colorectal cancer reshaped his life. He had bowel problems for a long time, but the symptom that finally pushed him to seek care was severe exhaustion that made…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Heather’s Patient Story
Heather Williams was 48 when months of unexplained symptoms finally led to a Stage IV colorectal cancer diagnosis on 30 January 2023. She had been dealing with anemia, a persistent cough, and abdominal pain. Earlier explanations focused on asthma and anemia…
Read this storyStage IV Cancer Patient Story
The patient was a father whose cancer was found in April 2009, at a time when he and his adult child were living together and his wife had been away from the home for about 4 years. The diagnosis showed Stage IV disease, and the family understood that the…
Read this storyStage IV Cancer Patient Story
A young woman had been married for only 1 year and had given birth a few months earlier when severe back pain led to an emergency trip to the hospital. She was diagnosed with metastatic cancer involving the lower back or hip bone and other bones, but the…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer Patient Story
A woman who had always been active, healthy, and busy with work and family noticed a lump in the lower inner part of her left breast. For a long time, she tried to convince herself it was a benign breast condition. A doctor's exam changed everything. Testing…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer Patient Story
In August 2009, a woman was hospitalized after abdominal bloating became too severe to ignore. Her family first thought constipation might be the cause, but testing showed advanced colon cancer. The cancer had spread through the large bowel area, with liver…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer Patient Story
A woman was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer and had surgery, but the adrenal metastasis could not be removed and remained in place. She went through one standard treatment after another. At times, bowel obstruction led to several hospitalizations…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Katie’s Patient Story
Katie was 56 and living south of London when she shared her experience with invasive lobular carcinoma. Her primary breast cancer had been diagnosed at 50 after mild pain in her right breast. A mammogram did not show the cancer, and the diagnosis was…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Beth’s Patient Story
Beth had recently turned 63 when she shared her experience with pleomorphic invasive lobular carcinoma. Her first diagnosis came in 2005, when she was in her early 40s and working in oncology drug sales. The cancer was Stage II pleomorphic ILC with lymph node…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Nikoo’s Patient Story
Nikoo’s first experience with invasive lobular carcinoma began in 2003, when her general practitioner felt hard tissue in her right breast even though she had recently had a clear mammogram. Ultrasound and biopsy found a 0.9 cm lobular breast cancer. She had…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jeri’s Patient Story
Jeri was a retired oncology registered nurse living near West Chester, Pennsylvania, when an annual mammogram found part of an abnormal-looking lymph node. She had just turned 60 and felt active and well. Biopsy of the lymph node showed invasive lobular…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Lisa’s Patient Story
Lisa was living in Kentucky with her husband, 3 sons, and 7 grandchildren when she learned that her invasive lobular carcinoma had returned as metastatic disease. Her first signs had appeared in 2017: an inverted nipple, followed about 6 weeks later by…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Kris’s Patient Story
Kris lives in West Central Florida and is a retired closed captioner. Years before her diagnosis, back injuries from a 2013 motor vehicle accident led to lumbar spine MRI imaging. The radiology report raised the possibility of metastatic cancer in the spine…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Leanne’s Patient Story
Leanne was 55 and living on a horse farm in Nova Scotia when she described living with metastatic lobular breast cancer. She had one daughter, one grandson, and a life centered around writing and horses. Her brain metastasis changed that life, making it…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Glenna’s Survivor Story
Glenna’s lung cancer story began in December 2022 with a nagging cough. She was not especially worried at first because she already had a silent reflux diagnosis, but by March the cough had worsened. Medication changes and a reflux referral did not solve the…
Read this story