Colorectal Cancer: 402 Real Stories
402 stories match colorectal cancer. 338 of them mention surgery.
Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kate’s Patient Story
Kate Joyal was training for a 10K when severe abdominal pain appeared suddenly. She initially wondered whether she had appendicitis or severe constipation, but urgent-care evaluation showed a bowel obstruction caused by several masses in her intestines. She…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Lauren’s Patient Story
Lauren was 41 when an urgent bathroom problem became the first sign of Stage IV signet-ring cell colon cancer. In mid-February 2025, she began feeling constant pressure to use the bathroom. By March 6, she counted 27 bathroom trips in 1 day. Her primary care…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Andrea’s Patient Story
Andrea Suarez V began having persistent constipation in 2015. By 2016, she was also seeing dark blood in her stool. Colon cancer ran in her family, but her doctor did not recommend a colonoscopy. As a recent immigrant, Andrea found the U.S. healthcare system…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Paige’s Patient Story
Paige Cipher was 25 and living in Denver when she shared her Stage III rectal cancer story. Her first symptom had started months earlier: blood in her stool around September 2024. She was otherwise healthy, active, and exercising regularly, so the symptom did…
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 storyColorectal Cancer: Julie’s Patient Story
Julie Goodrich turned 50 in 2020, when many elective procedures were disrupted. Her primary care clinician continued reminding her to schedule a colonoscopy, and in 2022 he insisted that she arrange her first screening. Julie felt well and had no pain, blood…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jay’s Survivor Story
Jay was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in 2013 after noticing blood in his stool and pushing for testing. A CT scan and urgent colonoscopy showed a mass, and surgery was scheduled quickly. His surgeon was able to remove the primary tumor without leaving…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: James’s Survivor Story
James had years of rectal bleeding that was repeatedly treated as hemorrhoids before he pushed for a colonoscopy himself. He was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2003, later describing it as Stage IIIC/IV. At first, doctors did not know the full extent of…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Crystal’s Survivor Story
Crystal was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022 after years of symptoms that were easy to explain away, including persistent urinary tract infections and later severe abdominal pain. Imaging showed a mass, and a needle biopsy confirmed that the tumor was…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Marc’s Survivor Story
Marc Anthony was 29 when he was diagnosed with Stage IIA colon cancer in January 2015. He had noticed rectal bleeding but delayed care, partly because he was young and doctors had suggested he was too young for cancer. Family history changed the urgency: his…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Esteban’s Survivor Story
Esteban Moreno pursued genetic testing after his father was diagnosed with colon cancer. The testing showed that Esteban had Lynch syndrome, and a routine colonoscopy then found a malignant tumor. Further evaluation showed that the cancer had already…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Crystal’s Survivor Story
Crystal had noticed blood in her stool for years and believed it was hemorrhoids. In 2022, symptoms became harder to ignore. Severe abdominal pain and recurring urinary tract infections pushed her to seek medical care, and a CT scan showed an abnormal mass…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Albita’s Patient Story
Albita was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in January 2024 after years of symptoms she had attributed to stress, IBS, or constipation. A colonoscopy found the primary tumor, and scans showed about 3 liver metastases, making the cancer Stage IV. Her team…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Monica’s Survivor Story
Monica Dean was 46, a San Diego news anchor, and a mother of 3 when a routine first colonoscopy changed her life. She felt healthy, had no symptoms, and did not have an immediate family history of colorectal cancer. A conversation with someone who regretted…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Monica’s Survivor Story
Monica Dean was 46 and working as a news anchor in San Diego when she decided it was time for routine colorectal cancer screening. She had no symptoms, no immediate family history, and had often reported on the rise of colorectal cancer in adults under 50…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Michelle’s Patient Story
Michelle was a 40-year-old 5th-grade teacher when Stage IV colorectal cancer was diagnosed in 2017. For years, she had chronic constipation and bloating, but those symptoms were explained away as medication effects or other issues. Severe pain eventually sent…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kasey’s Patient Story
Kasey was 36 when years of abdominal cramping, mucus in her stool, and later heavy rectal bleeding led to her first colonoscopy in February 2024. She expected an explanation such as hemorrhoids or a fissure, but the gastroenterologist found a large colon mass…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Chloe’s Survivor Story
Chloe’s Stage III colon cancer was found in early 2024 after symptoms that kept getting worse. She had bloating and stomach problems, then weight loss, fatigue, lack of appetite, and abdominal swelling. Because she already had anemia, some symptoms were first…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Chloe’s Survivor Story
Chloe was 26 and living in the UK when weeks of stomach symptoms were repeatedly treated as gastroenteritis. She had weight loss, poor appetite, vomiting, dehydration, swelling, and worsening abdominal pain, but early tests did not explain what was happening…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Kristin’s Survivor Story
Kristin had lived with IBS-like digestive problems for years, but in March 2021 her symptoms changed. Bloating, constipation, and right-sided abdominal pain became more intense, then returned with fever, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and pain worse than…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Mark’s Survivor Story
Mark was 35 when cramping episodes in 2020 led him toward a Stage IIIB colon cancer diagnosis. At first, doctors thought the pain might be appendicitis, but Mark felt that explanation did not fit what was happening in his body. He kept pushing for more…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Bill’s Patient Story
Bill was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer just before his 44th birthday. He had noticed blood in his stool for several weeks but initially dismissed it. His wife Lisa, a nurse, urged him to get a colonoscopy. The test found a cancerous tumor in his colon…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Heather’s Survivor Story
Heather Russell was 35 when months of blood in her stool and thinner stools led to a colonoscopy on her birthday in March 2020. A local clinician had previously suggested hemorrhoids, and Heather delayed the procedure even as symptoms worsened. Her younger…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Courtney’s Survivor Story
Courtney Vigars was 27 when she noticed blood in her stool while preparing for her wedding in 2019. She initially attributed it to stress, and a clinician suggested hemorrhoids, but the bleeding continued and became heavier. A colonoscopy found a rectal mass…
Read this story