Chemotherapy: 963 Real Stories
963 stories match chemotherapy. 777 of them mention surgery.
Stage 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 II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Sian’s Survivor Story
Before a routine mammogram in July 2012, Sian Bevans noticed a lump in her left breast. Ultrasound and biopsy confirmed that the lump was related to fibrocystic breast changes, but the mammogram also showed calcifications in her right breast. Sian delayed the…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Lea’s Patient Story
Lea was 37 when she first felt a small, hard breast lump in 2017. She pushed for a mammogram because breast cancer had affected an aunt, even though her doctor initially thought the lump might be an ingrown hair. After abnormal mammograms and biopsy, Lea was…
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 III Colorectal Cancer: Briana’s Survivor Story
Briana was 31, active outdoors, and working in the environmental sector when symptoms began about 10 months before diagnosis. Mild constipation became repeated episodes of nausea, vomiting, lower-left abdominal pain, anemia, and worsening bowel problems. She…
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 storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Tina’s Patient Story
Tina Powell is living with Stage IV lung cancer and uses her Lung Cancer Strong channel to explain chemotherapy from the patient side. By November 2025, she had received 27 rounds of chemotherapy in different combinations over 3 years. She named pemetrexed…
Read this storyStage III MSI-High Colorectal Cancer: Tommy’s Survivor Story
Tommy Allen was 57 when severe stomach pain and bright red blood in his stool led to a colon cancer diagnosis. He first had surgery in June 2019 near home in Alabama, but the surgeon could not remove all the cancer because the tumor was wrapped around…
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 storyI Was Told I Was TOO YOUNG For Breast Cancer!
The patient was breastfeeding her daughter in 2016 when she noticed a lump in her right breast. She was reassured at first that she was too young for breast cancer and that it might be related to breastfeeding. After diagnosis, further testing changed the…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Ross’s Patient Story
Dr. Ross Camidge had spent more than 20 years treating and researching lung cancer when he became a patient himself. In May 2022, he noticed a pulled feeling in his left shoulder and an unusual breathing sound when lying on his right side. A chest X-ray…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kailee’s Patient Story
Kailee was 34 and 15 weeks pregnant with her second daughter when she was diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer. Her symptoms had started earlier. During her first pregnancy, blood in her stool was dismissed as hemorrhoids, and she later put her own…
Read this storyStage IV ROS1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Drea’s Patient Story
Drea was 26, a never-smoker, and living in Florida when a series of unexplained symptoms led to a Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis. It began with a DVT that caused a swollen ankle. Over the next 4 to 5 months, she developed unexplained bruising…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Stacy’s Survivor Story
Stacy had received regular mammograms since age 40 and was repeatedly told the results were clear. Dense breast tissue was noted, and automated whole-breast ultrasound was recommended only once. During a 2023 examination, her gynecologist felt that one breast…
Read this storyStage IV ROS1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Lysa’s Patient Story
Lysa was 40, raising 2 children, working, and finishing college when severe mid-back pain during travel led to a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. At first, an ER visit treated the pain like a muscle problem, but the pain kept returning and eventually became so…
Read this storyHER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Janella’s Survivor Story
Janella Bustamante was diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer in June 2021. Her cancer was described as fueled by estrogen, progesterone and the HER2 protein. She returned to Lima, Peru, for the first part of treatment and spent the following months…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Paul’s Patient Story
Paul Forgette was 68 when arthritis-related preoperative blood work unexpectedly revealed low-grade prostate cancer that only needed observation. Soon after, he bumped his chest and felt a lump. A mammogram first suggested male breast cancer, and further PET…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Nicole’s Patient Story
Nicole was 42 and working as a fine jewelry designer when a sharp seatbelt-like pain across her chest led her to feel a new breast change. Because she had dense, fibrous breast tissue and a history of cysts, a cyst seemed possible, but her gynecologist was…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA2 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Marissa’s Patient Story
Marissa was 31 and raising young children when fatigue, nighttime hot flashes, restless legs, and a lump in her right breast led to testing. On February 17, 2024, biopsy confirmed Stage II invasive lobular carcinoma in the right breast, with positive lymph…
Read this storyStage IV BRAF Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Pio’s Patient Story
Pio was 54, originally from Italy and living in Hawaii for 35 years, when a mild ache near his liver led to a Stage IV colon cancer diagnosis. He was still surfing, windsurfing, swimming, and training, so the pain felt small: about 2 out of 10. During a…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Josephine’s Survivor Story
Josephine faced 2 cancer diagnoses before age 40. In 2015, at age 28, she was diagnosed with melanoma. Two years later, breast cancer disrupted the life she and her partner were building around marriage, family plans, and ordinary young-adult freedom. Breast…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Njathi’s breast cancer was found after her delayed 40th-birthday mammogram led to extra imaging in early 2023. At first, she thought the callback was routine for a first mammogram. When the repeat screening focused on one breast and the lymph nodes…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Rancik was 31 when chest pain she thought was a pulled muscle led to a Stage II triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis. Her doctor initially dismissed her request for mammography, but she insisted. Three days after biopsy, she was told to gather her…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Basma’s Patient Story
Basma, a 44-year-old mother of 2, learned she had breast cancer after a mammogram showed concerning changes and a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. Her name was changed for privacy. She had no family history of breast cancer, and the news affected not only her…
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