Stage 4: 492 Real Stories
492 stories match stage 4. 319 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Usha’s Patient Story
Usha Jain, a retired UC Berkeley professor, was diagnosed in July 2018 with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer despite having no smoking history. Her daughter, Amita Jain, was both a physician and caregiver, yet still found the lung cancer decision-making…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Anne’s Patient Story
Anne Forth LaPorte was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her public story centers on advocacy, family connection, and remembrance. Anne already understood the impact of lung cancer before her own…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Rebecca’s Patient Story
Rebecca Goins was first diagnosed with Stage IVB colorectal cancer at 38 after sudden anemia sent her to the emergency room. She had sensed that something was wrong, but earlier evaluations had not found cancer. A colonoscopy finally revealed a tumor. Her…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Helen’s Survivor Story
Helen D. was diagnosed with Stage IV rectal cancer after her doctor called with urgent news. The cancer had spread to her liver, where doctors identified 10 to 14 lesions, several close to major blood vessels. Her care team initially warned that she might…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Duncan’s Patient Story
Duncan Edmonstone was 55 when a seizure led to a sudden Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. He had not had the symptoms people often associate with lung cancer, such as a persistent cough or chest pain. After scans and tests, doctors found advanced lung cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Hong’s Patient Story
Hong Wentong, from Cambodia, was diagnosed with colon cancer in June 2013 after he developed blood in his stool. He first went to Thailand, where he had surgery. After that treatment, his condition improved, but he still had uncomfortable symptoms and…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Antonio’s Patient Story
Antonio, a 48-year-old man from Manila, began noticing small amounts of blood in his stool in March 2012. At first, he thought it might be constipation because he had no other major symptoms, but his condition gradually worsened. Local ultrasound and CT…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Hakim’s Patient Story
Hakim Rusli developed cough, sputum, and difficulty breathing in early 2011 and went for evaluation in Malaysia. PET-CT testing led to a lung cancer diagnosis. A histology such as non-small cell lung cancer and biomarker results were not shared. Hakim first…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Survivor Story
An unnamed mother of 4 was 37 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer in December 2010. Her initial treatment included A/C followed by T/Herceptin, then a bilateral mastectomy and 36 radiation treatments. She stayed on Herceptin for about 8…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Amy’s Survivor Story
Amy Mannarino was first diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer in November 2014 after a routine mammogram. She had a lumpectomy at MSK Commack, then started tamoxifen because chemotherapy was not expected to work well for her type and stage of cancer. Tamoxifen…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Lorie’s Patient Story
Lorie Young was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in March 2026 after a 1.2-inch tumor in the lower left lung was found by chance during a routine physical. A robotic bronchoscopy biopsy and other tests confirmed the diagnosis. Because the cancer had…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Tiffany’s Patient Story
Tiffany Andrews was 35 when a lump in her right breast led to a diagnosis of Stage II breast cancer. Testing showed HER2-positive disease. She began treatment with 6 rounds of chemotherapy combined with HER2-targeted therapy, then underwent a mastectomy…
Read this storyStage IV MSI-High Colorectal Cancer: Cindy’s Patient Story
Cindy Mette noticed declining energy in early 2022, and a colonoscopy found a colon tumor that doctors removed. Less than a year later, the cancer returned and spread. In 2023, she was told she had Stage IV colorectal cancer and might have only months to…
Read this storyStage IV Gastric Cancer: Derek’s Patient Story
An emergency physician and Pain Medicine Fellow in upstate New York was diagnosed with Stage IV stomach cancer in July 2024. Treatment began locally, but he sought second opinions from several institutions before deciding to enroll in a clinical trial at UT…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Monica’s Patient Story
Monica Mendoza was 44 when an unexpected episode of back and flank pain led her doctor to order a CT scan. The scan revealed Stage IV colorectal cancer with liver metastases, turning what began as one painful night into a life-changing diagnosis. Treatment…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jacob’s Patient Story
Jacob was 43 when he was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in October 2025. At the time, he and his wife were raising three children, including a baby who was less than a month old. Before the diagnosis, Jacob had experienced symptoms but attributed them…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Anne’s Patient Story
Anne spent 35 years as a nurse and had already cared for her father through advanced lung cancer when she began having back pain in 2019. She initially blamed the pain on triathlon training and adjusted her exercise, but it kept worsening. Over the next 8…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Jeff’s Patient Story
Jeff Meckstroth had a cough that lingered for several months before scans and biopsies led to a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis in 2015. He and his wife, Rhonda, were initially told that he might have only months to live. Extra tissue collected for biomarker…
Read this storyStage IV MSI-High Colorectal Cancer: JJ’s Patient Story
JJ was 27 when months of abdominal pain, bowel problems, vomiting and rapid weight loss led to an emergency CT scan and colonoscopy. Surgery removed about 80% of his colon and 36 inches of small intestine. He needed a second operation during a 16-day hospital…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer Survivor Story
Kristen Price’s sister was 41 when shoulder pain brought her to the emergency department and led to an unexpected diagnosis of Stage IV colon cancer. The diagnosis was devastating for the family and became the event that triggered broader evaluation of…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Alison’s Survivor Story
Alison was 34 and breastfeeding when she found a lump under her right arm. Biopsies confirmed triple-positive breast cancer in the breast and axillary lymph nodes. After HER2 testing returned equivocal 3 times, the final result guided a TCHP regimen…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Shari’s Patient Story
Shari found a breast lump in December 2015. A mammogram several months later led to a surgical lumpectomy because she had saline implants. The lump was breast cancer, and further staging showed that the triple-positive disease was already metastatic, making…
Read this storyStage IV Gastric Adenocarcinoma: Derek’s Survivor Story
Derek Cooney, an emergency physician, was 48 when difficulty eating and drinking led to testing and a diagnosis of diffuse gastric adenocarcinoma. A laparoscopy showed that the cancer had spread to his peritoneum, making it Stage IV. Derek began with 8 rounds…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Betty’s Patient Story
Betty Jean had survived breast cancer in 2019, but a later episode of back pain changed the course of her life again. While on vacation, she developed pain that seemed like a bad back problem. Imaging instead revealed Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, with…
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