Surveillance for Colorectal Cancer: 90 Real Stories
90 stories match colorectal cancer and surveillance. 79 of them mention surgery.
Colorectal Cancer: Joachim’s Survivor Story
Joachim Braun was 55 and married when he described an early rectal cancer found 5 years earlier. One day at age 50, he noticed blood in his stool. After waiting a few days and hoping it would stop, he went to a doctor, who immediately referred him for…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Lisa’s Survivor Story
Lisa Roth was 59 when she reflected on colorectal cancer connected to Lynch syndrome, also called HNPCC. She was about 45 when the diagnosis first entered her life. One morning before work, she suddenly had intense urgency and heavy bleeding from the bowel…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Lorenz’s Patient Story
Lorenz Kraus was 61 when he described sigmoid colon cancer diagnosed 3 years earlier. During a hiking holiday, he noticed unusual exhaustion and frequent bowel movements after meals. After returning home, he sought medical advice. Colonoscopy in hospital…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Sonja’s Survivor Story
Sonja Novotny was 58 when rectal cancer was found during a preventive colonoscopy recommended by her daughter, who worked in healthcare. Until then, Sonja had not noticed warning signs, so the diagnosis came as a complete surprise. She appreciated that her…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Richard’s Survivor Story
Richard Linde was 61, married, and a father of 2 when he described colorectal cancer diagnosed 2 years earlier. He had not felt generally ill. The warning sign was repeated blood in his stool, which led him to contact his family doctor after 3 days…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Johanna’s Patient Story
Johanna Vogel was a 24-year-old student living with familial adenomatous polyposis, or FAP, an inherited condition that can fill the colon with polyps and greatly increase colorectal cancer risk. Her father died young from colorectal cancer, and his illness…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Gerlinde’s Survivor Story
Gerlinde Zeigert was 59, in a long-term partnership, and a former teacher and principal when she described life after hereditary colorectal cancer. Because her brother and a cousin had developed colorectal cancer early, she had already been advised to attend…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Annemarie’s Survivor Story
Annemarie Merscher was already used to close medical monitoring before colorectal cancer was found. Because of polyps, she had colonoscopies and rectoscopies every 6 months from 2006 to 2014. She also lived with a donor liver and immunosuppressive medication…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Karl’s Survivor Story
Karl Bergmann was 82 when he reflected on rectal cancer first diagnosed 23 years earlier. Blood in his stool initially seemed like hemorrhoids to him, but his wife and daughter pushed him to be examined. Colonoscopy found rectal cancer. Surgery removed the…
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 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: 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 storyColorectal Cancer: Kelly’s Patient Story
Kelly Brophy shared the story of her mother’s colon cancer. Her mother was diagnosed with early-stage colon cancer in 2011. After treatment, she went into remission within 1 year, but chemotherapy left lifelong complications because of her health and the…
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 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 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 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 II Colorectal Cancer: Deondre’s Survivor Story
Deondre Williams was diagnosed with Stage II colon cancer in 2017 after blood in his stool kept returning. He first thought the bleeding was hemorrhoids and tried to manage it himself, but his wife encouraged him to see a doctor. Colonoscopy found multiple…
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 III Colorectal Cancer: Laura’s Survivor Story
Laura Behnke noticed blood in her stool a few days before embryo implantation, but the bleeding stopped and she focused on pregnancy after IVF. It returned in her 2nd trimester, and she assumed it was hemorrhoids because pregnancy and postpartum hemorrhoids…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Lee’s Patient Story
Lee was 55 and had no family history of cancer when a prostate infection unexpectedly led to a CT scan. The scan showed 5 spots on his liver. A colonoscopy then found the primary tumor in his colon, making the diagnosis Stage IV colon cancer with liver…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Rachel’s Survivor Story
Rachel had lived with digestive issues since she was 10, but after losing more than 100 pounds and feeling healthier, nausea, bloating, and stomach discomfort returned. The symptom that pushed her to seek help was blood in her stool. Her family doctor took…
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