Chemotherapy: 963 Real Stories
963 stories match chemotherapy. 777 of them mention surgery.
Stage II HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan’s Survivor Story
Megan-Claire Chase was diagnosed with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer after symptoms such as green bruises, brittle hair, sudden weight gain, and a left-breast mass. Her doctors later believed the cancer may have been growing for 8 to 10 years and had…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Michelle’s Survivor Story
Michelle Cappel was a 40-year-old fifth-grade teacher when years of chronic constipation, bloating, and worsening abdominal pain finally led to a Stage IV colorectal cancer diagnosis. Her symptoms had been blamed on antidepressants, possible celiac disease…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan-Claire’s Survivor Story
Megan-Claire Chase was 39 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIA invasive lobular breast cancer. Years before diagnosis, she had a strong family history of cancer and was already watching her body closely. A preventive mammogram at 35 was read as clear, but…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan-Claire’s Survivor Story
Megan-Claire, also known as Warrior Meg, expected cancer might come from the ovarian or cervical cancer patterns in her family. Instead, she was diagnosed with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer shortly after turning 39. Earlier, a preventive mammogram…
Read this storyStage III Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Nikki’s Patient Story
Nikki, a 47-year-old mother and teacher, had already survived a rare cancer before her breast cancer diagnosis. In 2016, while breastfeeding her long-awaited son, a doctor reviewed years of bowel and IBS-like complaints and investigated further. That workup…
Read this storyStage III HER2-Positive Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Nikki’s Patient Story
Nikki first noticed sharp pain around her right nipple in August 2022. Because there was no lump and she had been told that cancer usually did not hurt, she attributed it to menopause. By late November, her nipple had become completely inverted. A biopsy and…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Lucinda’s Patient Story
Lucinda Rudolph was 68 when an annual breast cancer screening in April 2020 led to a frightening local assessment. She had been treated for breast cancer 10 years earlier with lumpectomy and radiation, and this new cancer was initially described as…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Maria’s Patient Story
Maria Dupree was 58 when cramping and rectal bleeding led to a proximal rectal cancer diagnosis in December 2022. She had seen doctors a few months earlier, but the first tests did not identify the cause. A colonoscopy was recommended, and Maria scheduled it…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Angelica’s Survivor Story
Angelica Allen’s follow-up story focused on how life changed after Stage III bowel cancer. She was diagnosed in 2018 at age 38, after exhaustion, iron deficiency, bloating, bowel changes, and intermittent bleeding led to emergency evaluation. Treatment began…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Angelica’s Survivor Story
Angelica Allen was 38 when she was diagnosed with Stage III bowel cancer after months of symptoms that were easy to misattribute. She had iron deficiency, severe exhaustion that lasted 7 or 8 months, bloating, bowel-movement changes, and intermittent…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Wendy’s Survivor Story
Two weeks after turning 50, Wendy Tamis Robbins learned she had Stage II colon cancer. Severe iron depletion found during a routine physical led to her first colonoscopy, which found a large cancerous tumor. Wendy underwent surgery to remove the tumor and a…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Neda’s Survivor Story
Neda was 48 and living in Seattle when her breast cancer journey began. In April 2020, she felt a large lump in her left breast. Mammography and ultrasound did not show cancer, and she received a letter noting dense breast tissue and recommending another…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Sarah’s Patient Story
Sarah McDonald was 44 and pursuing fertility treatment with her husband when she received 2 unrelated cancer diagnoses within 2 months. The first was incurable salivary gland cancer, found after she noticed a lump in the floor of her mouth after a deep teeth…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Sarah’s Survivor Story
Sarah McDonald was 44 when she was diagnosed with 2 unrelated cancers within 2 months. Surgery for a rare salivary gland cancer prompted her to re-examine a breast lump first noticed 6 years earlier. Annual mammograms had not shown a clear problem because she…
Read this storyBRCA1 Breast Cancer: Carol’s Survivor Story
In 2018, this patient was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer after years of monitoring suspicious areas in the right breast. Genetic testing later showed a BRCA1 mutation, which influenced both breast cancer planning and future ovarian cancer risk…
Read this storyStage I BRCA1 Ovarian Cancer: Carol’s Survivor Story
After treatment for triple-negative breast cancer, this patient tested positive for a BRCA1 mutation and began high-risk gynecologic follow-up. CA-125 levels remained within the normal range, but the gynecologic oncologist recommended risk-reduction removal…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jason’s Survivor Story
Jason Randall was diagnosed with Stage IV sigmoid colon cancer on July 17, 2018, after severe abdominal pain and bowel obstruction symptoms led to imaging. About 80% of his liver was covered with metastatic disease, and his sigmoid colon was fully blocked, so…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Bart’s Survivor Story
Bart Wilson was 37 when lower abdominal pain and blood in his stool led to a colonoscopy in January 2020. Doctors found a large tumor blocking much of his colon, and he needed emergency surgery. The next day, he learned he had Stage IV colon cancer that had…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Lung Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine’s lung cancer was found during treatment for a separate Stage III triple-positive breast cancer. Extensive testing for the breast cancer included scans of the liver, brain, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and reproductive organs. A lung nodule was seen, but…
Read this storyStage III HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine Elliott was 31 when she noticed a large, hard, fixed breast lump while lying in bed. She had also felt tired, pale, stressed, and increasingly anxious, but the visible divot and the lump made her seek care. Imaging, biopsy, and MRI showed Stage III…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Amanda’s Survivor Story
Amanda was 29 when light IBS-like symptoms and blood in her stool began. She immediately asked whether it could be colon cancer, but was told it was probably hemorrhoids, a fissure, grief, anxiety, or stress. Her symptoms persisted for almost a year. Blood…
Read this storyStage III Ovarian Cancer: Karoline’s Patient Story
The patient was diagnosed with Stage III clear cell ovarian cancer on Feb. 6, 2020 after pain with urination led to a CT scan. The scan showed a mass about the size of her fist on the right ovary, and her gynecologist confirmed cancer. Her treatment began…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Abigail’s Patient Story
Abigail Myers was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2014, just over a year after the birth of her son. Testing showed triple-positive disease, with estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors. Her initial treatment included a double mastectomy, radiation…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Meredith’s Survivor Story
Meredith Huetter was diagnosed with Stage III rectal cancer at 46. Her story focuses less on the full treatment timeline and more on what happens after the most visible parts of treatment are over. She pushed back on language such as “fighter” or “you’re so…
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