Stage I Colorectal Cancer: Paul's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Paul | Stage I

Completed treatment and described the cancer as beaten, with the goal of continuing life without cancer.

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Colorectal Cancer: Angela's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Angela

Angela was declared cancer-free in March 2022 after surgery and 4 months of chemotherapy.

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Colorectal Cancer: Percy's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Percy

Completed treatment and described the cancer as being in remission.

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Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Anna's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Anna | Stage III

Anna remains under surveillance with scans and colonoscopies and reports No Evidence of Disease.

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Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Hilmi's Patient Story

Patient Info: Hilmi | Stage III

Hilmi was still undergoing chemotherapy and remained focused on recovery while managing a stoma and treatment side effects.

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Nearly 5 years without rectal cancer recurrence when a lung nodule proved to be infection

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 60s

He remained without rectal-cancer recurrence for nearly 5 years after diagnosis. A new lung nodule found in 2020 was surgically biopsied and proved to be Pneumocystis infection rather than metastasis or a new lung cancer.

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Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: Maria's Patient Story

Patient Info: Maria | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: lungs

After colorectal cancer spread to the lungs, completed 6 months of chemotherapy and is being monitored with CT scans every 3 months.

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Scurvy and Severe Bruising During Metastatic Colon Cancer Care

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: vagina|sacrum

She died one year after hospitalization for scurvy and Klebsiella bacteremia, following progressive malignancy, recurrent infections, and community palliative care.

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Colon Cancer Survivor: "I Didn't Think I Had Symptoms, Diagnosed Stage 3B" | Shelley's Story

Patient Info: Shelley Brown, Female | Stage III

As of October 2020, Shelley was in remission / no evidence of disease several years after Stage IIIB sigmoid colon cancer treatment, with ongoing surveillance by scans, CEA, and colonoscopy.

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Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Ben's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Ben Simcox, Male, Under 40 | Stage III

As of September 2020, Ben was cancer-free for almost 3 years after treatment for rectal cancer with 3 positive lymph nodes, including chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and 6 additional months of chemotherapy.

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Treatment-Related Inflammation Mimicked Metastatic Colon Cancer Recurrence

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 50s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: KRAS mutation

Metastatic Site: liver|peritoneum

Biopsy showed that new lymph-node, liver, and spleen findings were a treatment-related sarcoid-like reaction rather than recurrence, and 18 months of surveillance found no evidence of cancer.

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Rectal Cancer Recurrence at a Colostomy Site

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage Metastatic/Advanced

Metastatic Site: abdominal wall|peritoneum

She was alive 6 months after palliative radiotherapy for recurrent disease at the colostomy and abdominal wall.

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Colon Cancer Metastasis Found Inside a Thyroid Nodule

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 50s | Stage Metastatic/Advanced

Biomarkers: KRAS mutated; thyroid metastasis CDX2 positive and CK20 positive; PAX8/TG/TTF-1 negative

Metastatic Site: lungs|thyroid

Follow-up was planned after thyroid surgery, with no adjuvant treatment for the coexisting low-risk thyroid lesion.

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Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: Scott's Patient Story

Patient Info: Scott Sterling, 50s | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: liver

After nearly 2 years of treatment for Stage IV colorectal cancer, Scott was able to have his primary tumor removed in August 2020 and was recovering while the metastatic disease continued to be managed.

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Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Allison's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Allison, Female, Under 40 | Stage III

As of August 2020, Allison reported no evidence of disease on follow-up scans while continuing survivorship care after rectal-cancer treatment.

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Lynch syndrome-related colon cancer diagnosed at age 16

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, Under 40 | Stage II

Biomarkers: Loss of MSH2 and MSH6 expression; pathogenic de novo germline MSH2 c.1786_1788delAAT; Lynch syndrome

Colonoscopic surveillance and abdominal imaging remained negative for recurrence through 48 months; recurrent narrowing at the anastomosis required balloon dilation, and she was otherwise doing well and attending college.

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Stage III rectal adenocarcinoma with concurrent intermediate-risk prostate cancer

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 60s

Biomarkers: Rectal cancer CEA was not elevated. Prostate cancer PSA was high before treatment and low after radiation.

The rectal tumor achieved pathologic complete response with no residual tumor and 0 of 13 lymph nodes involved. Surveillance CT at 10 months showed no local recurrence or distant metastasis, and PSA remained low 1 year after operation.

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Cancer Survivor Story: Colon Cancer (Lynch Syndrome)

Patient Info: Shannon, Female, Under 40 | Stage II

Biomarkers: Lynch syndrome; MSI-high / dMMR

As of May 2020, Shannon was considered cancer-free after surgery-only treatment for Stage IIA MSI-high/Lynch-associated colon cancer and remained on strict Lynch syndrome surveillance.

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Colon Cancer Stories: Barbara Majeski

Patient Info: Barbara Majeski, Female, 40s | Stage III

As of May 2020, Barbara was approaching the 5-year mark after Stage III colon cancer, with blood tests every 6 months and annual scans reported as good/clear.

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Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: Howard's Patient Story

Patient Info: Howard Brown, Male, 50s | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: peritoneum|liver

Howard was living with metastatic colon cancer and undergoing CT scans every 90 days, with further treatment depending on whether scans showed recurrence or progression.

A benign liver granuloma mimicked rectal-cancer recurrence after chemotherapy

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 40s

Rectal resection showed a pathologic complete response, and the enlarging liver lesion was repeatedly confirmed as non-malignant granulomatous inflammation rather than metastatic recurrence.

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An unusual paratesticular metastasis from colon cancer

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 50s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: CK20-positive; CDX2-positive; CK7-negative.

Metastatic Site: lungs; right paratesticular soft tissue

He recovered well after removal of the paratesticular metastasis and continued treatment for metastatic colon cancer with his oncology team.

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Stage I Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Jana's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Jana | Stage I

Jana was declared cancer-free in August 2020 after surgery for Stage I colon cancer.

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Colorectal Cancer: Mary's Patient Story

Patient Info: Mary

Within 12 months of the initial treatment course, further tumors were found during follow-up, including one in the liver.

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