Colorectal Cancer: 402 Real Stories
402 stories match colorectal cancer. 338 of them mention surgery.
Stage III Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Michael’s Survivor Story
Michael Holtz was diagnosed with Stage IIIB rectal cancer on March 27, 2012, 5 days after his 43rd birthday. He had experienced rectal bleeding, changes in bowel habits, and constipation or obstruction. After the colonoscopy, he and his wife were taken into…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Zykeisha’s Survivor Story
Zykeisha Law was 37 and a mother of 2 when she shared her Stage IV colorectal cancer story. Years before diagnosis, she had unexplained anemia, very low hemoglobin, and blood transfusions, including during pregnancy. Later, after her youngest child was born…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer Patient Story
Elsa Lankford became a caregiver when her wife was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer at age 49. The recommended screening age had been lowered from 50 to 45 only 2 months earlier. They already feared cancer, and the diagnosis was confirmed while Elsa’s…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Savannah’s Survivor Story
Savannah Kaspar was 26 when abdominal pain, severe constipation, and bloody stools pushed her to seek answers. A colonoscopy in August found a mass in her sigmoid colon. It was first described as noncancerous, but Savannah came to MD Anderson, where imaging…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: John’s Survivor Story
John Johnson was 35 and training seriously as a runner when rectal bleeding led to a Stage II rectal cancer diagnosis. At first, he thought the bleeding might be hemorrhoids. When it worsened, he saw his physician, who recommended a colonoscopy. The…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Courtney’s Survivor Story
Courtney Hare, a teacher, first noticed blood in her stool in August 2020 and immediately felt something serious was wrong. Blood work later showed she was very anemic. Even so, multiple doctors in different cities dismissed her symptoms because she was…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Justine’s Patient Story
Justine was 32 when bowel changes became impossible to ignore. In the summer of 2018, her bowel movements increased until she was going up to 20 times a day, with soft stool and blood. A colonoscopy on February 11 found a tumor, and she was diagnosed with…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer Patient Story
Liliana Bolaños’s mother had years of stomach pain and bowel problems and made repeated emergency-room visits, but no colonoscopy was performed and the mass was not identified on scans. When clinicians eventually found it, they believed it came from the…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Linda’s Patient Story
Linda Hartong was 44 when constipation and abdominal pain led to hospital testing. A CT scan, MRI, and colonoscopy resulted in a diagnosis of Stage IV colon cancer on August 11, 2023. During an attempted operation, surgeons found that the mass was connected…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Allison’s Survivor Story
Allison was 32 and living with Crohn’s disease when she noticed symptoms that felt different from her usual bowel issues. She had weight loss, severe fatigue, increased blood in her stool, and a sensation that food was getting stuck inside her. Because she…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jason’s Survivor Story
Jason Randall was 35 in 2018 when severe cramping and inability to move his bowels led to scans showing Stage IV rectosigmoid colorectal cancer. He had a large tumor where the rectum and colon meet, and cancerous lesions covered about 80% of his liver. His…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Stephanie’s Patient Story
Stephanie McBride was 42 when she was finally referred for a colonoscopy after at least 18 months of colorectal cancer symptoms. She had repeatedly reported rectal bleeding, changes in bowel habits, narrow stools, abdominal cramping and bloating, low iron…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Chrystie’s Patient Story
Chrystie was 30 when severe pain led to hospitalization in March 2007. She was initially diagnosed with diverticulitis and spent months moving in and out of the hospital, including weeks of intravenous antibiotics at home. When she returned with severe pain…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Raquel’s Patient Story
Raquel was 33 when she shared her experience with terminal Stage IV colorectal cancer. Her symptoms started years earlier with frequent bathroom trips, pencil-thin stools, abdominal pain, bloating, blood in her stool, and later getting full quickly after…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Katie’s Patient Story
Katie LaPira was 46 when worsening bowel symptoms finally led to a colonoscopy. She had spent about 2 years feeling unwell and later developed blood in her stool and an increasing need to stay close to a bathroom. Access to colonoscopy had been delayed…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Bobbi’s Survivor Story
In June 2022, Bobbi Ratliff went to the emergency room with severe stomach cramps and vomiting. A CT scan showed that her colon was about 90% blocked, leading to hospital admission and a diagnosis of Stage IV colon cancer at age 50. Imaging also found a liver…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Cristina’s Survivor Story
Cristina Patrick underwent surgery on July 27, 2020, to remove a malignant mass from her left ovary and was initially told she had ovarian cancer. Continued gastrointestinal problems led to a colonoscopy, which found a mass in her descending colon. A colon…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jena’s Patient Story
Jena Sica was 25 when rectal bleeding and fatigue led to a colonoscopy and a diagnosis of Stage IIIC colon cancer in 2020. Her care included biomarker testing, chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy, and surgery. Jena used her experience to emphasize…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jelena’s Survivor Story
Jelena was 34, healthy, and running half marathons when she began noticing unusual digestive changes. Her gas smelled different, then she saw blood in her stool. Because colorectal cancer did not run in her family and she felt otherwise well, she first…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Kara’s Patient Story
Kara Wutzke considered herself to be in the best shape of her life when persistent gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, and irregular bowel movements began to interfere with how she felt. As a health and fitness professional, she first examined her diet and…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Ann’s Survivor Story
Ann Gustafson was 49 when she noticed blood with bowel movements. Her doctor promptly referred her for a gastrointestinal consultation and colonoscopy. When Ann woke from the procedure, she was alone and learned that doctors had found a large tumor believed…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Stacy’s Survivor Story
Stacy Hughes was 38 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIIB colon cancer in April 2023. She had noticed persistent changes in bowel habits, narrow stools, stomach cramping, bloating, fullness, and pain in the left lower abdomen. Her primary-care clinician felt…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jason’s Patient Story
Jason Reese was 49 when he described living with Stage IV colorectal cancer that started in the rectum and spread extensively to his liver. For a long time, he explained away gastrointestinal distress as diet-related. Blood on the toilet paper slowly worsened…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Jay’s Survivor Story
Jay McCoy was 48 when a scheduled executive physical and routine colonoscopy unexpectedly found Stage II colon cancer. His wife, a family medicine physician, arranged the colonoscopy because screening recommendations had shifted to begin at age 45. During the…
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