Surgery for Colorectal Cancer: 338 Real Stories
338 stories match colorectal cancer and surgery. 274 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV Colorectal Cancer Patient Story
In August 2009, a woman was hospitalized after abdominal bloating became too severe to ignore. Her family first thought constipation might be the cause, but testing showed advanced colon cancer. The cancer had spread through the large bowel area, with liver…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Robert’s Survivor Story
Robert’s colon cancer was found after a colonoscopy showed a bleeding ulcer at the site where a suspicious polyp had been removed 6 months earlier. He was told he needed surgery right away. On December 27, 2010, surgeons removed the ascending colon and 10 cm…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Stéphanie’s Patient Story
Stéphanie Lévesque learned she had Stage III colorectal cancer on February 14, 2023, when she and her partner met with the surgeon who had performed her colonoscopy on February 6. The diagnosis was difficult to absorb, but her surgeon explained that the tumor…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jameelah’s Survivor Story
Jameelah Mahmoud was 33 when persistent abdominal pain finally led to a Stage III colorectal cancer diagnosis. Her pain began in November 2018, but she was misdiagnosed 4 times before getting an answer in March 2019. She kept returning to her primary care…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Amber’s Survivor Story
Amber Madden was 42 when persistent stomach pain led to a Stage III colon cancer diagnosis that was soon upstaged to Stage IV. In late July 2024, she thought the discomfort might be constipation, but over-the-counter medicines did not help. At the emergency…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Kaitlin’s Patient Story
Kaitlin Van Saders first noticed bowel changes after the birth of her second son. She was going to the bathroom more often and asked a GI doctor for a colonoscopy, but at age 32, with no family history, she was denied and told to decrease stress. During…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Pete’s Survivor Story
Pete Di Stefano had a recommended screening colonoscopy at age 45 and learned he had a 3 cm mass in his transverse colon. Looking back, he realized he had missed anemia as a possible warning sign. His treatment plan began with surgery. After pathology came…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Jessica’s Patient Story
Jessica Engle’s only early symptom was that she could not pass stool for a week. On day 7, she developed stabbing pain on the right side of her abdomen, and her daughter took her to the hospital. Doctors attempted a colonoscopy, and Jessica woke up hearing…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Karina’s Survivor Story
Karina Bandera had just turned 40 when she was told she had Stage IIIC rectal cancer. She had always considered herself healthy and kept up with yearly primary-care visits, but then noticed streaks of blood in her stool. A gastroenterologist referred her for…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Sydney’s Patient Story
Sydney Stoner had digestive issues for years before lower abdominal pain became debilitating. The pain shifted from occasional constipation to frequent heavy pain with constipation and diarrhea. She tried elimination diets and holistic doctors, but she knew…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret Mullaney was told she might have colorectal cancer immediately after her first colonoscopy, while still sitting in a crowded recovery room. The colonoscopy had been ordered because of symptoms that included blood in the stool, bowel-habit changes…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Janice’s Patient Story
Janice Johnson was 48 when severe abdominal pain sent her to the emergency room. At first, the symptoms were treated like constipation or food poisoning, but follow-up testing showed thickening in part of her colon wall. She pushed to get a colonoscopy…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Rebecca’s Survivor Story
Rebecca Barber had recently had a baby when she began bleeding while going to the bathroom in 2019. The bleeding worsened, and a sigmoidoscopy found a tumor while she was awake with only the doctor and a nurse present. The moment felt unreal, and she later…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Gwen’s Survivor Story
Gwen Powell was 35, with 3 children under age 5, when repeated painful episodes were dismissed as constipation, gall or kidney stones, postpartum changes, or ovarian cysts. She kept going back for help, but it was hard to push for more testing while exhausted…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Rebecca’s Patient Story
Rebecca Goins was first diagnosed with Stage IVB colorectal cancer at 38 after sudden anemia sent her to the emergency room. She had sensed that something was wrong, but earlier evaluations had not found cancer. A colonoscopy finally revealed a tumor. Her…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Kevin’s Survivor Story
Kevin was 54 when his second colonoscopy led to a colorectal cancer diagnosis. Doctors had tried to complete an earlier colonoscopy, but coughing interrupted the procedure and he was asked to return in 1 year. Because 2020 disrupted care and he had no…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Gabriel’s Survivor Story
Gabriel Leblanc was 36 when worsening health problems finally led to a Stage III colon cancer diagnosis. His symptoms began with trouble breathing and becoming winded during simple activity, but early concerns were dismissed as asthma. Two years later, he was…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Helen’s Survivor Story
Helen D. was diagnosed with Stage IV rectal cancer after her doctor called with urgent news. The cancer had spread to her liver, where doctors identified 10 to 14 lesions, several close to major blood vessels. Her care team initially warned that she might…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Hong’s Patient Story
Hong Wentong, from Cambodia, was diagnosed with colon cancer in June 2013 after he developed blood in his stool. He first went to Thailand, where he had surgery. After that treatment, his condition improved, but he still had uncomfortable symptoms and…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Danny’s Survivor Story
Danny Soto was used to danger as a firefighter, but colon cancer felt different because the disease had taken his father’s life. His case was aggressive and complex. Before he came to Memorial Sloan Kettering, treatment at another hospital left him weak, sick…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Elizabeth’s Survivor Story
Elizabeth had put off her first colonoscopy for 5 years because she dreaded the preparation. When her sister needed one in 2014, Elizabeth finally scheduled her own. The procedure itself was easier than she expected, but the result was not: she was told she…
Read this storyStage IV MSI-High Colorectal Cancer: Cindy’s Patient Story
Cindy Mette noticed declining energy in early 2022, and a colonoscopy found a colon tumor that doctors removed. Less than a year later, the cancer returned and spread. In 2023, she was told she had Stage IV colorectal cancer and might have only months to…
Read this storyStage III MSI-High Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Briana’s Survivor Story
Briana Ghbein was 34 when genetic testing in 2021 identified MSH2, associated with Lynch syndrome, and a CHEK2 mutation. Because of those findings, she underwent a colonoscopy that found an early rectal adenocarcinoma. She had surgery to remove the cancer and…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Monica’s Patient Story
Monica Mendoza was 44 when an unexpected episode of back and flank pain led her doctor to order a CT scan. The scan revealed Stage IV colorectal cancer with liver metastases, turning what began as one painful night into a life-changing diagnosis. Treatment…
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