colectomy for Colorectal Cancer: 48 Real Stories
48 stories match colorectal cancer and colectomy. 46 of them mention surgery.
Colorectal Cancer Patient Story
This anonymous colorectal cancer experience focuses on colectomy, a surgery used when part or all of the colon must be removed. The central experience is surgery and recovery rather than a long medication timeline. During colectomy, the surgeon may connect…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Keith’s Survivor Story
Keith Akins had worked hard to improve his health before cancer entered the picture. In 2020, he changed his diet and exercise habits and lost 75 lbs, feeling healthier than he had in years. In 2024, his doctor recommended that he start colon cancer screening…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Sylvia’s Survivor Story
Sylvia Herrmann had lived with ulcerative colitis since youth, so symptoms such as diarrhea were already part of daily life. At 39, the diarrhea became uncontrollable and led her to seek medical help. Colon cancer was found at a relatively early stage…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Johanna’s Patient Story
Johanna Vogel was a 24-year-old student living with familial adenomatous polyposis, or FAP, an inherited condition that can fill the colon with polyps and greatly increase colorectal cancer risk. Her father died young from colorectal cancer, and his illness…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Gerlinde’s Survivor Story
Gerlinde Zeigert was 59, in a long-term partnership, and a former teacher and principal when she described life after hereditary colorectal cancer. Because her brother and a cousin had developed colorectal cancer early, she had already been advised to attend…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Amber’s Survivor Story
Amber Madden was 42 when persistent stomach pain led to a Stage III colon cancer diagnosis that was soon upstaged to Stage IV. In late July 2024, she thought the discomfort might be constipation, but over-the-counter medicines did not help. At the emergency…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Janice’s Patient Story
Janice Johnson was 48 when severe abdominal pain sent her to the emergency room. At first, the symptoms were treated like constipation or food poisoning, but follow-up testing showed thickening in part of her colon wall. She pushed to get a colonoscopy…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Kevin’s Survivor Story
Kevin was 54 when his second colonoscopy led to a colorectal cancer diagnosis. Doctors had tried to complete an earlier colonoscopy, but coughing interrupted the procedure and he was asked to return in 1 year. Because 2020 disrupted care and he had no…
Read this storyStage 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 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 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: 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: 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 I Colorectal Cancer: Rachel’s Survivor Story
Rachel had lived with digestive issues since she was 10, but after losing more than 100 pounds and feeling healthier, nausea, bloating, and stomach discomfort returned. The symptom that pushed her to seek help was blood in her stool. Her family doctor took…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Hugo’s Patient Story
Hugo was 27 and 5 years clear from testicular cancer when a routine colonoscopy led to a second cancer diagnosis. He had mild ulcerative colitis and usually had colonoscopies every 3 years, but he asked to move one up when his bowels began flaring in a way…
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…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Nathan’s Survivor Story
Nathan, a 35-year-old father of 5, had persistent heartburn, digestive problems, early fullness, exhaustion, and later severe abdominal pain. Blood work in the emergency room showed major anemia, and colonoscopy revealed colon cancer: a baseball-sized tumor…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jim’s Patient Story
Jim was 43 and felt healthy when routine blood work changed everything. A physical for an insurance discount showed high liver enzymes, and repeat blood work stayed abnormal. An ultrasound found multiple liver masses, followed by a biopsy and CT scan. He was…
Read this storyStage III MSI-High Colorectal Cancer: Tommy’s Survivor Story
Tommy Allen was 57 when severe stomach pain and bright red blood in his stool led to a colon cancer diagnosis. He first had surgery in June 2019 near home in Alabama, but the surgeon could not remove all the cancer because the tumor was wrapped around…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jackson’s Survivor Story
Jackson was 2 days away from turning 26 and 3 weeks away from the bar exam when abdominal pain, vomiting, and dehydration sent him to the emergency room on July 3, 2024. A CT scan showed narrowing in the colon and concern for a tumor. He had an emergency…
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 Colorectal Cancer: Rachael’s Patient Story
Rachael, a 34-year-old mother of 3, was diagnosed with Stage IV sigmoid colon cancer after severe stomach pain sent her to the emergency room. A CT scan unexpectedly showed cancer, and further workup showed spread to her ovaries and liver. Before diagnosis…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Carmen’s Patient Story
Carmen noticed blood in the urine and stool in January 2025 and sought medical attention within a few days. A family doctor referred Carmen to a specialist, and colonoscopy confirmed Stage II colon adenocarcinoma. Carmen describes being in the 40s at…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Casandra’s Survivor Story
Casandra had persistent abdominal pain that caused significant discomfort. Although the symptoms were initially thought to be irritable bowel syndrome, Casandra remained concerned that something more serious was being missed. After about 2 years of raising…
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