Colorectal Cancer: 402 Real Stories
402 stories match colorectal cancer. 338 of them mention surgery.
Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: Helen’s Survivor Story
Helen was 49 when symptoms that seemed like a urinary tract infection led to a Stage IV sigmoid colon cancer diagnosis. She had pelvic pressure, burning with urination, bowel changes, bloating, and low energy. After 3 rounds of antibiotics and 2 enemas that…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Scott’s Patient Story
Scott was featured by the Colorectal Cancer Alliance in a video titled “Scott’s Colorectal Cancer Story.” His public story confirms that he had colorectal cancer, but it shares only limited clinical detail. His stage, primary site, biomarker status, treatment…
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 Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Meagan’s Survivor Story
Meagan was 24, student teaching, and focused on starting her adult life when she noticed small amounts of blood in her stool in August 2024. She assumed it was probably hemorrhoids because the bleeding was not constant or heavy. By February 2025, she brought…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kalei’s Patient Story
Kalei first noticed bowel changes that seemed small: going more often, mucus or tissue in the stool, stomach pain, sharp pains, rectal bleeding, and then blood clots. Doctors initially reassured her because her blood work was normal, she was not anemic, and…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: David’s Survivor Story
David Lyon was 26 when occasional blood in his stool was followed by sharp abdominal pain so severe he could not stand up straight. A colonoscopy in June 2021 showed Stage IV colorectal cancer that had spread to his liver and several lymph nodes near his…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Joe’s Patient Story
Joe never had blood in his stool. His warning signs were fatigue, loss of appetite, feeling generally off, and then severe shoulder, back, stomach, and liver-area pain. Because he worked long hours in the restaurant industry, the fatigue was easy to explain…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Alyssa’s Patient Story
Alyssa Kelly was 38 and pregnant in early 2021 when abdominal discomfort, weight loss and a concerning ultrasound finding led to an MRI. The news came by phone: Stage IV colon cancer. The main tumor was the size of a softball and pressed on her uterus…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Mike’s Patient Story
Mike Ray was 39 when he faced colon cancer that had spread to his liver. He also learned he had Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that raises the risk of several cancers. Many centers could only offer palliative care because his cancer was metastatic and…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Amber’s Survivor Story
Amber Mike was 44 when bleeding after earlier fibroid surgery led her gynecologist to recommend a colonoscopy. She delayed the appointment at first because she was busy traveling for work, but in May 2023 the colonoscopy found a tumor and she was diagnosed…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Natasha’s Patient Story
Natasha McCants had her first screening colonoscopy in February 2023 at age 45 after a suspicious Cologuard test. The initial biopsy did not show cancer, but her gastroenterologist trusted what he had seen and sent her to surgery. Two months later, a…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Sydney’s Patient Story
Sydney had years of constipation, bloating, and pain before anyone found the cause. She thought it might be IBS and tried diet changes, including gluten-free and dairy-free eating. Doctors repeatedly told her she was too young for colon cancer. In mid-2020…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Timothy’s Survivor Story
Timothy Beckner was 43 and feeling healthy when an unexpected illness led to a colon cancer diagnosis. After returning from a family vacation in May 2025, he developed stomach issues and a fever. Emergency evaluation found salmonella and mild diverticulitis…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: John’s Survivor Story
John Murray was 51 when an at-home colorectal cancer screening test came back negative. Over the following years, he had bleeding and pain that he assumed were hemorrhoids. By February 2025, at age 56, he finally scheduled a colonoscopy. The test and…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Joe’s Patient Story
Joe Carr's diagnosis came quickly after several weeks of fatigue and loss of appetite. One night, severe stomach pain sent him to the emergency department. A CT scan showed that his liver was covered with lesions, leading to a colonoscopy and colon surgery to…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Phil’s Survivor Story
Phil Bosanko was 48 and working for the Transportation Security Administration when blood spotting led to his first colonoscopy in early 2006. The test showed colon cancer, and surgery removed 9 inches of colon. Phil and his wife initially thought the cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Cora’s Patient Story
Cora was preparing to start private practice as a therapist when colorectal cancer changed her life. Before diagnosis, fatigue was the first major clue. She was sleeping instead of eating, losing weight unintentionally, and repeatedly being evaluated for…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Nina’s Survivor Story
Nina, a mother of 3 in Leeds, had been told for years that her bowel problems were IBS. During lockdown, her symptoms worsened with increasing discomfort, skin flare-ups, and blood and mucus in her stool. Tests were reassuring, and she was advised to manage…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kina’s Survivor Story
Kina had lived with on-and-off IBS-like symptoms for years, so when bowel symptoms returned she first tried cutting dairy and coffee. Blood in her stool and feeling constantly unwell finally pushed her to seek answers. Colonoscopy found a 4 cm mass, and at…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Maria’s Patient Story
Maria was 27 when she shared a cancer history that began in infancy. She had Wilms tumor, a kidney cancer, at 15 months old. Her treatment included radiation under anesthesia, and feeding problems led to a G-tube that stayed in place for 12 years. She later…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kristie’s Patient Story
Kristie was 51 when her first colonoscopy changed everything. She had gone in after her OB-GYN pushed her to complete screening that had been delayed after COVID. She had dealt with constipation for much of her life and later recognized pencil-thin stools as…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Colorectal Cancer: John’s Patient Story
John E. was 44 when he was given a two-year prognosis and told chemotherapy was his only treatment option. With a wife and two daughters, he wanted another perspective and sought care at Mayo Clinic. Biomarker testing was raised immediately as part of that…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Scott’s Survivor Story
Scott Zeff was 67 when a prostate exam for urinary issues led indirectly to a rectal cancer diagnosis. He was given medication for a swollen prostate, but because he had never had a colonoscopy, he was advised to schedule one. A few months later, colonoscopy…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Nadia’s Survivor Story
Nadia lived with ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, from age 15. For about 25 years, she managed flares, frequent bathroom urgency, colonoscopy surveillance, and close follow-up with her gastroenterologist. She was also in a clinical…
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