Colorectal Cancer: 402 Real Stories
402 stories match colorectal cancer. 338 of them mention surgery.
Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Mark’s Survivor Story
Mark was 35 when repeated severe right-sided cramps pushed him to seek answers. An emergency-room visit ruled out appendicitis, but he still felt something was wrong and followed up with a gastroenterologist. A colonoscopy found a mass on the right side of…
Read this storyStage IV KRAS Colorectal Cancer: Bill’s Patient Story
Bill was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer at 44 after blood in his stool led to a colonoscopy in May 2020. The cancer had already spread to his liver. At Mayo Clinic, his team planned 6 rounds of chemotherapy near home, followed by combined laparoscopic…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Shannin’s Patient Story
Shannin was 26 when months of severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting turned into a Stage IV colon cancer diagnosis. Her symptoms were first dismissed as food intolerance, but she knew something was wrong and kept seeking medical opinions. An urgent care…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Shannin’s Patient Story
Shannin was diagnosed on April 13, 2024, at age 26 with Stage IV metastatic colorectal cancer. Months earlier, she had severe left-lower abdominal pain after eating, nausea, vomiting, and a feeling that stool could not pass. Initial explanations such as food…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Tamara’s Patient Story
Tamara was a 50-year-old oncology infusion nurse when a routine physical in November 2023 unexpectedly showed severe anemia and nearly absent iron stores. She had no obvious symptoms, no rectal bleeding, and was still working normally, so the result did not…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Edie’s Survivor Story
Edie was 52 when a positive Cologuard test led to a Stage IIIB colorectal cancer diagnosis. For years, she had dealt with constipation, but she had linked it to medication, scoliosis, and everyday explanations. When she turned 50, her doctor recommended…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Tamara’s Patient Story
Tamara was a 50-year-old oncology infusion nurse when her own cancer was found unexpectedly. She felt healthy and had no major symptoms, but an annual physical showed severe anemia. That result led to a colonoscopy and genetic testing. The testing revealed an…
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 III Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Katie’s Survivor Story
Katie’s Stage IIIB transverse colon cancer was found after months of fatigue and severe anemia rather than classic bowel symptoms. Emergency-room testing did not show blood in her stool, and she initially tried iron pills and then iron infusions. The…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Katie’s Survivor Story
Katie’s Stage IIIB colon cancer was found after symptoms that did not look like classic bowel cancer at first. She had extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, and heartburn, but no blood in her stool or obvious gastrointestinal changes. Because she was active…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Cattie’s Patient Story
Cattie Fleming had intermittent rectal bleeding for years, and the symptom was repeatedly attributed to hemorrhoids. During and after her second pregnancy, her symptoms became more intense. She experienced severe fatigue, constipation, irregular and narrowing…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Edie’s Survivor Story
Edie had noticed severe constipation for 1-2 years before her diagnosis. Because she had no family history or major risk factors, screening began when she turned 50. A positive Cologuard test led to a colonoscopy, where doctors found a mass near the border of…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Denelle’s Survivor Story
Denelle was diagnosed with Stage IIIB rectal cancer in April 2024 after months of bowel changes. In fall 2023, she noticed irregular bowel movements, frequent bleeding, and a feeling that she could not fully evacuate. She initially thought the symptoms might…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Denelle’s Patient Story
Denelle Chapman was diagnosed with Stage IIIB rectal cancer in April 2024 after symptoms she first thought might be hemorrhoids. She had irregular bowel movements, frequent bleeding, and the feeling that she could not fully empty her bowel. A colonoscopy…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Skylee’s Survivor Story
Skylee Tinker was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer at age 49 without preceding symptoms. Her daughter, Laken Dilday, was 4 months pregnant at the time. The family initially expected that surgery to remove part of Skylee’s colon would be the only…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Wendy’s Survivor Story
Wendy Harpp was 55 when a routine colonoscopy found Stage III rectal cancer in late 2019. Her first screening colonoscopy at age 50 had shown no polyps or other problems, and she had no symptoms before the follow-up examination 5 years later. During 2020…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer Survivor Story
Antonio Dionizio’s father was 63 when he was diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer in 2003. He had immigrated to the United States in the 1970s and worked in construction to support his family. Antonio remembered him as exceptionally strong, and cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Evan’s Patient Story
Evan White was 24 when he was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer in 2017. His sister Jenna lived with him for 2 years during surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation and saw the cumulative side effects of treatment. Evan also turned his experience into…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Shawn’s Patient Story
Shawn Michael was 48 when Stage IV colorectal cancer was found after what felt like severe constipation. He had postponed a scheduled colonoscopy in January 2024 during a stressful period. By late October, he felt impacted and tried urgent-care…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Shawn’s Patient Story
Shawn was 48 and living in Springfield, Michigan, when severe abdominal pain led him to seek urgent care. A CT scan showed a large blockage, and doctors quickly diagnosed Stage IV colorectal cancer. The diagnosis was unexpected and frightening, but treatment…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Lindy’s Patient Story
Lindy was 34 and 2 months postpartum when she was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. During pregnancy, she had severe abdominal pain, bowel changes, blood in her stool, and major discomfort, but she thought the symptoms were part of pregnancy. The cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Shayla’s Patient Story
Shayla was 33 when she was diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer. For years, she had unexplained digestive issues, exhaustion, food intolerance, and stomach sensitivity. She saw gastroenterologists and was diagnosed with celiac disease, but cutting out…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Tracy’s Survivor Story
Tracy was 41 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIB colorectal cancer. She had lived with digestive problems for years, including bloating, inflammation, and intermittent bleeding that was often attributed to irritable bowel syndrome or hemorrhoids. During a…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Scott’s Survivor Story
Scott had no noticeable bowel symptoms when a routine annual physical found blood in his stool. A colonoscopy then identified a rectal tumor and led to a stage 3 rectal cancer diagnosis. He had previously survived testicular cancer in 1988, but this second…
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