Radiation for Colorectal Cancer: 140 Real Stories
140 stories match colorectal cancer and radiation. 132 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage 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 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 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: 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 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 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 storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kayleigh’s Patient Story
Kayleigh had 1 alarming symptom: a small amount of blood in her stool. She called her doctor right away because it was unusual for her body. At first, hemorrhoids seemed possible, but Kayleigh asked for a FIT test. When it came back positive, she researched…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Donna’s Survivor Story
Donna Marie Caruso, 70, began treatment for rectal cancer in November 2020, soon after retiring from a 30-year teaching career. Because colorectal cancer ran in her family, she had been careful about screening and credited colonoscopy with catching the cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kalei’s Patient Story
Kalei was 28 and raising 2 young daughters when bowel changes, strange tissue in her stool, blood, clots, and cramping made her push for answers. A full colonoscopy found a mass growing through the rectal wall, and pathology confirmed rectal cancer. Her care…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Kara’s Survivor Story
Kara Lionetta was caring for 2 young children when her youngest was only 5 months old and she learned that symptoms she had associated with pregnancy and postpartum recovery were actually Stage III rectal cancer. She had experienced extreme exhaustion…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Claire’s Patient Story
Claire Firrell was 46 when abdominal pain led to a Stage III colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2015. The cancer had spread to lymph nodes. Her first treatment included surgery to remove the tumor, part of her colon, and lymph nodes, followed by 12…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Shiva’s Survivor Story
Shiva Sharma was 40 and working as a family doctor when vague bowel changes and back pain finally led him to schedule a colonoscopy. He had recently moved countries with his wife and 3 children and initially blamed stress. The colonoscopy changed everything…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Kathy’s Survivor Story
Kathy Ball-Toncic had already survived the trauma of September 11 and rebuilt her career when cancer entered her life twice in close succession. In February 2023, on her 69th birthday, she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), described as the…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Devon’s Survivor Story
Devon was 30 when rectal cancer symptoms appeared quickly. She first noticed more frequent bathroom urges, then mucus instead of stool, pain, and very narrow stools. She did not have blood in her stool, but the symptoms kept worsening. A gastroenterologist…
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 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 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…
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