Chemotherapy for Colorectal Cancer: 310 Real Stories
310 stories match colorectal cancer and chemotherapy. 274 of them mention surgery.
Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Gabriel’s Survivor Story
Gabriel Leblanc was 36 when worsening health problems finally led to a Stage III colon cancer diagnosis. His symptoms began with trouble breathing and becoming winded during simple activity, but early concerns were dismissed as asthma. Two years later, he was…
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 III Colorectal Cancer: Nick’s Survivor Story
Nick Cleworth, a 48-year-old train driver and father, went to his GP in late 2024 after seeing significant blood in his stool. Colonoscopy, CT, and MRI found a 4 cm rectal tumor, and the cancer had spread to nearby lymph nodes. His father had died from bowel…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Elizabeth’s Survivor Story
Elizabeth had put off her first colonoscopy for 5 years because she dreaded the preparation. When her sister needed one in 2014, Elizabeth finally scheduled her own. The procedure itself was easier than she expected, but the result was not: she was told she…
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 III Colorectal Cancer: Michael’s Survivor Story
Michael Ettinger was 18 when months of abdominal pain and extreme fatigue eventually led to a diagnosis of Stage III colon cancer in May 2021. Because he was young and otherwise healthy, Michael and his parents spent months advocating for additional testing…
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 III Colorectal Cancer: Paul’s Patient Story
Paul Weigel was 43 when he was diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer in 2013. His tumor, located at the junction of the rectum and colon, was about the size of a lemon. Imaging also showed suspicious lesions in his liver and lungs, but his story did not…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Janine’s Patient Story
Janine Stellacci had been an athlete since her teenage years. Around age 40, she began experiencing severe fatigue and changing gastrointestinal symptoms, which she initially attributed to stress, hormones, and being a woman. After several years, occasional…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Monica’s Survivor Story
Monica Diaz first noticed blood in her stool, followed by weight loss and abdominal pain. A colonoscopy led to a cancer diagnosis, and subsequent scans also found a tumor in her liver. She remembers the fear of potentially leaving her children while they were…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Zed’s Survivor Story
Zed was 35 when blood in his stool continued for about 1.5 months and fatigue began affecting sports he usually handled well. A FIT test confirmed blood in the stool, and colonoscopy found a large bleeding tumor blocking the colon so completely that the scope…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Adrienne’s Patient Story
Adrienne first blamed her severe fatigue on stress after a major breakup. She was sleeping 9 or 10 hours but still waking exhausted, and an annual physical showed normal bloodwork except for low vitamin D. Later, she noticed localized indigestion and felt a…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Laura’s Survivor Story
Laura Behnke noticed blood in her stool a few days before embryo implantation, but the bleeding stopped and she focused on pregnancy after IVF. It returned in her 2nd trimester, and she assumed it was hemorrhoids because pregnancy and postpartum hemorrhoids…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Allison’s Survivor Story
Allison was 32 and living with Crohn’s disease in remission when new symptoms felt different from anything she had experienced before. About 1.5 years earlier, she had the cleanest colonoscopy of her life. Then she began losing weight, feeling severely…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Haley’s Survivor Story
Haley Pollack had recently returned from parental leave when extreme fatigue became impossible to ignore. She initially blamed postpartum exhaustion, work, and parenting, but doctors were concerned about anemia. Colonoscopy found what looked like a bleeding…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Justine’s Patient Story
Justine was a 30-year-old kindergarten teacher when bowel changes, soft stool, and blood led her to seek answers. On February 11, 2019, a colonoscopy found a tumor, and she was staged with Stage IIIB rectal cancer. Her first plan was 5 weeks of capecitabine…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Shelley’s Survivor Story
Shelley was 49 when a planned endoscopy and colonoscopy unexpectedly found colon cancer. She had not gone in expecting cancer, but her gastroenterologist quickly arranged blood work, CT imaging, and a next-day surgical appointment. The tumor was in the…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Lindsay’s Patient Story
Lindsay was 32, about 3 weeks from her 33rd birthday, when she noticed a lump in her pelvic area. At first, she wondered if it was related to healing after a C-section, but the lump did not go away. She also developed unusual food smells, rapid weight loss…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Lee’s Patient Story
Lee was 55 and had no family history of cancer when a prostate infection unexpectedly led to a CT scan. The scan showed 5 spots on his liver. A colonoscopy then found the primary tumor in his colon, making the diagnosis Stage IV colon cancer with liver…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Joanna’s Survivor Story
Joanna developed rectal bleeding, stomachaches, bloating, and food-related discomfort that worsened over about 1.5 years. Because she was young and active, cancer was not initially discussed. She first contacted her gynecologist, then waited months for a…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Catherine’s Patient Story
Catherine was 10 weeks pregnant when persistent rectal bleeding, bloating, and trouble going to the bathroom led to sigmoidoscopy. The procedure found a rectal tumor. Further CT, MRI, and biopsy workup showed Stage III rectal cancer: it had reached lymph…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jackie’s Patient Story
Jackie was diagnosed with Stage IIIB rectal cancer after constant blood in her stool and worsening constipation led to colonoscopy. CT imaging raised concern for a liver spot, but that finding was later considered nothing. Genetic testing then showed Lynch…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Maria’s Survivor Story
Maria’s Stage IIIC rectal cancer was first mistaken for other problems. She was tired, lost about 20 pounds, and had a high pulse during a physical for maritime work. Doctors found a bladder infection that would not clear, then later suspected appendicitis…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Ken’s Patient Story
Ken was 59 when Stage IV sigmoid colon cancer was found after years of intermittent bowel changes. He had loose stools, increasing bathroom frequency, and occasional blood, but no abdominal pain and no major appetite problems, so he kept hoping the symptoms…
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