Chemotherapy: 963 Real Stories
963 stories match chemotherapy. 777 of them mention surgery.
Stage I Breast Cancer: Tina’s Patient Story
Tina sought medical care after noticing discharge from her nipple and was diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer. The diagnosis brought fear, helplessness, worry, and grief. Her doctors recommended a lumpectomy, and she agreed to the surgery. Chemotherapy was…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Alexandra’s Patient Story
Alexandra, 48, was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer after noticing a lump. She also saw a change in breast shape, skin irritation, thickening, and swelling. The diagnosis made her worried, frightened, overwhelmed, and nervous, but she trusted her doctor…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Hilmi’s Patient Story
Hilmi was diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer after a company health screening returned a positive FIT result and colonoscopy found several polyps and a tumor in his colon. He underwent a partial colectomy and has been living with a stoma. Chemotherapy…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Kelly’s Patient Story
Kelly was 41 when she shared her Stage III breast cancer experience. She had first noticed redness spreading across her right breast and was diagnosed in her mid-30s, around 2021. Her doctor discussed an estimated 5-year survival rate of 80%. The diagnosis…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Rachael’s Patient Story
Rachael found a breast lump during a routine self-check and was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2021. She also noticed changes in the size and shape of the breast and irritation or dimpling of the skin. The diagnosis left her numb, resentful…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Vivienne’s Survivor Story
Vivienne noticed that something was wrong with her breast in February 2021, when it became engorged and her nipple inverted. She sought medical care, and the evaluation eventually led to a breast cancer diagnosis. The news left her frightened, worried…
Read this storyStage II HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Kelsey’s Survivor Story
Kelsey was 45 when she noticed a lump in her left breast. Her family doctor referred her to the hospital for a mammogram, and she was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2021. Her record included HER2-positive disease, and trastuzumab was named because…
Read this storyStage II Gastric Cancer: Andy’s Patient Story
Andy had a family history of stomach cancer in a grandfather and uncle. A family doctor recommended genetic testing and an endoscopy, and the evaluation led to a diagnosis of Stage II gastric cancer. The diagnosis brought sadness, grief, and a sense of…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Maria’s Patient Story
Maria’s doctors initially planned mastectomy, lymphadenectomy, and chemotherapy for her breast cancer. During the mastectomy, they found that cancer had reached lymph nodes, and the treatment plan had to change. Radiation therapy was later added. Treatment…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Saila’s Patient Story
Saila Hanninen was 35 in 2016 and had recently completed her ninth marathon and first full Ironman when her health began to change. Slower training times, lower-back pain, a persistent cough, and increasing shortness of breath eventually led to testing. In…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Barb’s Survivor Story
Barb’s invasive lobular breast cancer was found after a routine mammogram in November 2016. She had no symptoms and no family history of cancer, so she did not expect the call-back to become serious. Second-look imaging led to ultrasound and biopsy, which…
Read this storyOvarian Cancer: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren Wells was 25 when several days of hearing music and seagulls, feeling sticky skin, and becoming unable to speak normally led coworkers to seek urgent help. She was first admitted to a psychiatric unit, but repeated seizures prompted intensive care and…
Read this storyOvarian Cancer: Elle’s Patient Story
Elle Simone was living in New York City when she began having symptoms she initially thought were gastrointestinal problems, something she considered plausible as a chef. She sought gynecologic care, but felt that her pain and concerns were dismissed. An…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Shelley’s Survivor Story
Shelley Brown was diagnosed with Stage IIIB sigmoid colon cancer in October 2015 after a colonoscopy found cancer in the sigmoid/left colon. She had not expected a cancer diagnosis. The colonoscopy was added while she was already planning an endoscopy for…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Jessica’s Survivor Story
Jessica Duemig was 32 when she woke with stabbing pain in her left breast and felt a small lump. At first, the lump was about the size of a pencil eraser, but within 1 month it had grown to the size of a large gumball. She decided to get it checked, and the…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Ben’s Survivor Story
Ben Simcox had his first colonoscopy at 28 after his sister, Heather, pushed family members to get screened because she had rectal bleeding and colon polyps. That first colonoscopy in 2009 found only non-cancerous polyps. Years later, in 2017, Ben developed…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Scott’s Patient Story
Scott Sterling was 51 in 2018 when a sudden sharp pain in his lower right abdomen led him to the emergency room. After several tests, a pelvic scan found Stage IV colorectal cancer that had spread to his liver. He learned that the disease was not considered…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Allison’s Survivor Story
Allison was 32 and already familiar with bowel symptoms because of Crohn’s disease, so subtle changes caught her attention. She noticed weight loss, severe fatigue, more blood in her stool, and a feeling that food was getting stuck. Her gastroenterologist…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Doris’s Patient Story
Doris learned in 2017 that she had breast cancer. The cancer was described as aggressive, and after months passed before she reached the hospital, she was told it had advanced to Stage IV and had metastasized to her lungs. Her doctor gave her an estimated 6…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Brooks’s Survivor Story
Brooks Bell was in follow-up after Stage III colorectal cancer and chemotherapy. Her July 2020 story follows a surveillance colonoscopy, a key part of monitoring after colorectal cancer treatment. She describes arriving at the endoscopy center, going through…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Caitlin’s Patient Story
Caitlin J. was 29 when she found a lump in her breast and had to push for evaluation while uninsured. Planned Parenthood referred her for imaging, and a mammogram showed a mass. Biopsy results came back within 3 days and confirmed Stage IIB ER-positive…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Kristine’s Patient Story
Kristine Bishop first noticed a slightly painful breast lump in 2008. It was a fibroadenoma, a noncancerous tumor, and it was removed. A year later, her mother pushed her to keep a follow-up mammogram appointment. That mammogram showed a tiny starburst-like…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Barbara’s Survivor Story
Barbara Majeski was 42 when colon cancer was finally diagnosed after a long period of symptoms and dismissal. She had trouble processing food, felt that things were sitting in her gut, and did not feel like herself despite being active and health-conscious…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine Hodgdon was 34, active, and training for a triathlon when she was diagnosed with aggressive metastatic breast cancer. The cancer was HER2-positive. She had no family history of breast cancer and described the diagnosis as a complete shock. Her…
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