Radiation for Colorectal Cancer: 140 Real Stories
140 stories match colorectal cancer and radiation. 132 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage 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 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 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 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 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 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…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Scott’s Survivor Story
Scott was diagnosed with Stage III rectal cancer in July 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The cancer was found after a routine physical showed blood in his stool. A colonoscopy the next month revealed a tumor in his rectum, even though he had not…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Nicola’s Survivor Story
Nicola, a mother and anesthetic technician, first noticed rectal bleeding. Doctors initially thought it was hemorrhoids, but a colonoscopy found a 4-cm colorectal tumor. She had surgery just before Christmas, and pathology showed that 4 lymph nodes contained…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Nicola’s Survivor Story
Nicola was first diagnosed with bowel cancer near the end of 2021 after years of rectal bleeding, stomach problems, and worsening anemia. A colonoscopy found a tumor, and staging scans followed. Five days before Christmas, she had bowel surgery that removed a…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Roshonda’s Patient Story
Roshonda was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2022 after symptoms that began with blood in her stool and a feeling that bowel movements were incomplete. As symptoms worsened, including blood after sexual activity and increasing discomfort, she changed…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Roshonda’s Survivor Story
Roshonda Clark was 40 when she was diagnosed with rectal cancer in March 2022. Doctors first thought it was Stage III, but she later learned it was Stage IV. Her symptoms had started earlier with blood in her stool and a feeling that bowel movements were…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Carmen’s Patient Story
Carmen noticed blood in the urine and stool in January 2025 and sought medical attention within a few days. A family doctor referred Carmen to a specialist, and colonoscopy confirmed Stage II colon adenocarcinoma. Carmen describes being in the 40s at…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jose’s Survivor Story
Jose Santos lived with severe ulcerative colitis for 16 years before his Stage III colorectal cancer diagnosis in 2022. The autoimmune disease had caused abdominal pain, bleeding, urgency, weakness, and a major loss of quality of life since his 20s. When…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jazz’s Patient Story
Jazz, a Texas resident, began having frequent bowel movements, discomfort, and rectal bleeding during a vacation in Hawaii. He first thought the symptoms were hemorrhoids and delayed getting checked, but his girlfriend noticed his weight loss and pushed him…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jazz’s Patient Story
Jazz Page was diagnosed with Stage III, borderline Stage IV rectal cancer after months of symptoms that he first tried to explain away. During a vacation, he felt the urge to use the bathroom 8 to 10 times a day and never felt fully emptied. He assumed it…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Paul’s Patient Story
Paul was diagnosed with Stage III rectal cancer in early 2024 after more than 1 year of bowel changes. He had frequent bowel movements and loose stools, but during a routine physical in late 2023, the symptoms were first thought to be inflammation or…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Paul’s Patient Story
Paul Klug was diagnosed with Stage III rectal cancer after more than a year of bowel changes. He first noticed frequent bowel movements and loose stools that did not improve. His family doctor and gastroenterologist initially monitored the symptoms…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jessenia’s Patient Story
Jessenia was diagnosed with Stage III rectal cancer at age 35 after years of symptoms she had linked to hemorrhoids after pregnancy. She had constipation, bloating, rectal bleeding, and severe pressure that eventually became so painful she could not sit. In…
Read this storyStage IV KRAS Colorectal Cancer: Lauren’s Patient Story
Lauren Bimage was 29 when she first noticed a breast lump after breastfeeding. It was initially thought to be a fibroadenoma, but years later pain and nipple changes led to mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy. She was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer…
Read this storyStage 0 Colorectal Cancer: Tracy’s Survivor Story
Tracy Robert was diagnosed with low rectal/colorectal cancer after years of bowel changes, bloating, painful gas, and intermittent bright red blood that had been treated as hemorrhoids, IBS, or other benign problems. A colonoscopy finally found what was…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Jay’s Patient Story
Jay Reese was 36 in 1987 when abdominal pain, bloody stool, and edema led to a colon cancer diagnosis. He underwent surgery, followed by 6 weeks of radiation and 1 year of chemotherapy. After treatment, he had annual colonoscopies and went nearly 25 years…
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