Breast Cancer: Alexandria's Patient Story

Patient Info: Alexandria, Female, Under 40

As of December 2019, Alexandria was receiving chemotherapy after single mastectomy and fertility preservation; no final outcome, stage, or biomarker status was stated.

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Budesonide resolved severe capecitabine-related diarrhoea during rectal cancer treatment

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 70+ | Stage II

The treatment-resistant diarrhoea resolved within two weeks of starting budesonide, and follow-up endoscopy and biopsies showed complete resolution of the bowel inflammation.

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Stage IV RET Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Sara's Patient Story

Patient Info: Sara Whitlock, Female, 40s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: RET fusion-positive NSCLC

Metastatic Site: Brain; abdomen; bowel

As of November 2019, Sara had Stage IV RET fusion-positive NSCLC with a long-term response and no signs of cancer while taking selpercatinib/LOXO-292 on a clinical trial, with ongoing monthly follow-up.

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Stage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Vanessa's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Vanessa Sanders, Female, Under 40 | Stage III

As of November 2019, Vanessa had shown no evidence of disease for 15 years after clinical-trial chemotherapy, breast-conserving surgery and 6 weeks of radiation for Stage III invasive ductal breast cancer.

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Breast Cancer Recurrence in the Liver Mimicking Cirrhosis

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Original cancer: HER2-negative and PR-positive. Liver recurrence: ER-positive.

Metastatic Site: liver

The breast cancer recurred in the liver after 14 years, produced pseudocirrhosis and portal-hypertension complications, and she died from hepatorenal syndrome five weeks after presentation.

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Pemphigus Vulgaris After Rectal Cancer Surgery and Ileostomy

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage Metastatic/Advanced

Clinicians found no evidence of residual internal malignancy during evaluation of her skin disease, and the pemphigus lesions healed after rituximab with remission maintained for 14 months.

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Severe reversible neurologic toxicity after apatinib for metastatic gastric cancer

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 50s | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: bone, adrenal glands

At follow-up in April 2019, he was alive and independent about 7 years after his Stage IV diagnosis, with apatinib permanently stopped after the neurologic toxicity.

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Stage IV gastric cancer presenting with chylothorax and lymphedema

Patient Info: Anonymized, female, 40s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: HER2-negative

Metastatic Site: distant lymph nodes, pleura, peritoneum

She died 6 months after the Stage IV gastric-cancer diagnosis despite chemotherapy and repeated treatment of the malignant pleural effusions.

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Stage III BRCA1 Ovarian Cancer: Patty's Patient Story

Patient Info: Patty Klein, Female | Stage III

Biomarkers: BRCA1 mutation

Patty was able to continue the olaparib plus BKM120 clinical trial as long as her tumor remained controlled. She later died.

Stage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: James's Patient Story

Patient Info: James “Rocky” Lagno, Male | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ALK-positive

Metastatic Site: brain

After starting ceritinib through compassionate use, Rocky reported stable disease from the middle of 2013 with quality of life close to his pre-diagnosis level, while recognizing that he was not in remission or cancer-free.

Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Mike's Patient Story

Patient Info: Mike Fitzpatrick, Male, 40s | Stage III

Mike entered remission after treatment and returned to public service. He died on January 6, 2020.

Stage I Ovarian Cancer: Mary's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Mary “Dicey” Jackson Scroggins, 40s | Stage I

Nearly 2 decades after treatment, Dicey remained free of ovarian-cancer recurrence.

Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Donna's Patient Story

Patient Info: Donna Fernandez, Female, 50s | Stage IV

While receiving nivolumab on a Phase III trial, Donna’s tumors remained present but stopped growing, and she was able to return to an active daily life.

Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Renee's Patient Story

Patient Info: Renee Shine, Female, 60s | Stage III

Renee’s tumor responded to pembrolizumab, and she remained on treatment through the clinical trial while describing herself as thriving.

Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Suzanne's Patient Story

Patient Info: Suzanne Kulliver, Female | Stage III

Suzanne completed colon cancer treatment in November 2015 and later reported feeling well and returning to an active routine.

Stage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Ginger's Patient Story

Patient Info: Ginger Tam, Female | Stage IV

Biomarkers: EGFR mutation

Ginger lived for more than 5 years with metastatic lung cancer while receiving multiple research-driven treatments. She died on February 10, 2018.

Stage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Kate's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Kate Watson, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: HER2-positive

Metastatic Site: Chest lymph nodes; spine; pelvis; femur

As of October 2019, Kate had been in remission for about 3 years with regular PET scans showing no evidence of active disease, while continuing monthly HER2-targeted maintenance treatment.

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Stage III Ovarian Cancer: Angela's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Angela Hernandez, female | Stage III

After completing chemotherapy, follow-up appointments continued to confirm that she was cancer-free.

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Breast Cancer Recurrence in the Parotid Gland Eight Years Later

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Primary breast tumor: ER-positive and HER2-positive. Parotid metastasis: ER-positive, PR-negative, and HER2-positive.

Metastatic Site: left parotid gland

The isolated parotid metastasis was completely resected, one-month PET-CT showed no significant abnormality, and endocrine therapy continued with exemestane.

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Severe lung injury during panitumumab treatment for metastatic colon cancer

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: lungs, bones, pelvis

She died from respiratory failure 13 days after the onset of pulmonary symptoms. Autopsy showed diffuse alveolar damage consistent with acute respiratory distress syndrome and metastatic colon adenocarcinoma in the right lung.

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Employee, ovarian cancer survivor: Why I chose MD Anderson

Patient Info: Angela Hernandez, female, Under 40 | Stage III

She had been cancer-free since January 2019 after surgery and 4 rounds of carboplatin and etoposide.

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Metastatic Colon Cancer With KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF Mutations

Patient Info: Anonymized, Male, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: KRAS exon 3 ; NRAS exon 2 ; BRAF exon 10 ; PIK3CA exon 2 .

Metastatic Site: liver

The liver metastases progressed despite FOLFOX and bevacizumab, and he died within one year of the initial diagnosis.

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Reversible Heart Dysfunction After FLOT Chemotherapy for Gastric Cancer

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage IV

Her speech recovered within hours and heart function returned to an ejection fraction of 65% within 1 week. Gastric-cancer treatment continued with carboplatin and paclitaxel.

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Metastatic Breast Cancer Presenting With Severe Pulmonary Hypertension

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ER-positive; PR-positive.

Metastatic Site: bone; bone marrow

At seven months, she was doing well with a marked response on PET imaging, normalized right-heart pressures, and ongoing systemic treatment with palbociclib.

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