Chemotherapy: 963 Real Stories
963 stories match chemotherapy. 777 of them mention surgery.
Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: Heather’s Patient Story
Heather Williams was 48 when months of unexplained symptoms finally led to a Stage IV colorectal cancer diagnosis on 30 January 2023. She had been dealing with anemia, a persistent cough, and abdominal pain. Earlier explanations focused on asthma and anemia…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jordan’s Patient Story
Jordan McConahay was 28 when stomach pain sent her to a walk-in clinic after only 2 days of symptoms. She expected something minor. Instead, testing found a mass in her colon, and the cancer had already spread to her liver and lungs. Her colon was nearly…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Jessica’s Patient Story
Jessica Everts first went to her primary care doctor because she had near-constant stomachache and blood in her stool. She was referred to a GI specialist who came to town once a week, and her colonoscopy was scheduled for January. She was told cancer would…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Taletha’s Survivor Story
Taletha Walls shared this story as the wife and caregiver of her husband, who was diagnosed with rectal cancer at age 67 after a colonoscopy. The finding came during the holiday season, and Taletha carried the news quietly from December 13, 2018, until…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Tracy’s Survivor Story
Tracy Murphy’s symptoms were not dramatic at first. For about 3 years, she dealt with mild to moderate problems and thought fatigue might be linked to long COVID or grief after losing her father. Over time, constipation became chronic enough that her doctor…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Judy’s Survivor Story
Judy Perdue is a mother of 3 with a high-stress healthcare career. When she noticed a little blood, loose stools, and some pain, it was easy to think the problem might be hemorrhoids. A colonoscopy changed everything by finding rectal cancer when Judy was 44…
Read this storyStage IV colon cancer with liver and peritoneal metastases treated with palliative surgery and chemotherapy story
In August 2009, a woman was hospitalized after abdominal bloating became too severe to ignore. Her family first thought constipation might be the cause, but testing showed advanced colon cancer. The cancer had spread through the large bowel area, with liver…
Read this storyBreast cancer treated with right mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, and reconstruction story
A woman found a breast lump herself and had it checked when a breast specialist was visiting a nearby clinic. She was quickly sent to a hospital for testing and was diagnosed with breast cancer. The time from discovery to surgery moved fast, but she felt…
Read this storyBreast cancer chemotherapy and family support story
In March, a woman found a lump in her right breast. Encouraged by her husband, she decided to go to the hospital even though she had never imagined she might have cancer. The diagnosis was a shock, and thoughts of death came immediately. Her children were…
Read this storyBreast cancer in a woman in her 20s treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and planned radiation story
A woman in her 20s found a lump in her breast in June and quickly went for screening. The diagnosis was right breast cancer. She had breast-conserving surgery, but because the lump was fairly large, very little of the breast remained. Seeing the large scar…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: CL’s Survivor Story
CL, 58, is from Singapore and was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer after noticing suspicious symptoms during a self-examination. She consulted a doctor, then sought a second opinion because she wanted advice from a more experienced doctor. Based on her…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Clara’s Survivor Story
Clara, 48, noticed a small lump on her nipple along with flaky skin on her breast. Those changes led her to seek medical evaluation, and she was diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer. The news was frightening and confusing, especially because the diagnosis…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Claritza’s Patient Story
Claritza, 51, is from Colombia and has been living with Stage III breast cancer for more than 3 years. Her early symptoms included frequent fevers, constant headaches, and significant weight loss. After diagnosis, she was told her estimated 5-year survival…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Emilcen’s Patient Story
Emilcen, 58, is from Colombia and was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer after finding a lump in her left breast. She went through mammogram, biopsy, and histochemistry testing before receiving the diagnosis. The news brought fear and worry, and she…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Irmina’s Survivor Story
Irmina, 64, is from Colombia and was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer after a routine health examination found the disease unexpectedly. She had no symptoms and no family history of cancer, so the diagnosis came as a shock. At first, she felt fearful…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Jess’s Patient Story
Jess was 54 when breast cancer was found after her sister encouraged her to get a mammogram because of her age. She had not noticed symptoms, so the Stage I diagnosis came as a shock. Fear, sadness, grief, loneliness, and worry hit quickly, and the experience…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Kim’s Survivor Story
Kim A. was 49 when she shared her Stage III breast cancer experience. More than 3 years earlier, a sharp, shooting pain in her right breast led her to notice a lump. Mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsies confirmed Stage III breast cancer with lymph node…
Read this storyStage IV cancer, hospice, and family support story
The patient was a father whose cancer was found in April 2009, at a time when he and his adult child were living together and his wife had been away from the home for about 4 years. The diagnosis showed Stage IV disease, and the family understood that the…
Read this storyStage II breast cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, breast-conserving surgery, and hormone therapy story
A woman was 38 in June 2007 when her partner felt a large lump in her breast and encouraged her to make a hospital appointment. A mammogram did not show a problem, and the first doctor sounded reassuring, but ultrasound clearly showed the mass. Further…
Read this storyBreast cancer lymph node recurrence after chemotherapy and surgery story
A woman had already completed chemotherapy and surgery for breast cancer and had returned to work when a 1-year postoperative checkup brought upsetting news: the cancer had spread to lymph nodes. The recurrence did not shock her in the same way as the…
Read this storyStage IV breast cancer with brain metastasis responding to chemotherapy, Gamma Knife, and targeted therapy story
A woman who had always been active, healthy, and busy with work and family noticed a lump in the lower inner part of her left breast. For a long time, she tried to convince herself it was a benign breast condition. A doctor's exam changed everything. Testing…
Read this storyBreast cancer with separate uterine and thyroid cancers, surgery, reconstruction, and chemotherapy story
A woman had already lived through uterine cancer in her early 30s and a total hysterectomy. For years afterward, she dealt with menopausal symptoms and delayed her own care while her mother was seriously ill. She had also been followed for a lump in her left…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Beth’s Patient Story
Beth had recently turned 63 when she shared her experience with pleomorphic invasive lobular carcinoma. Her first diagnosis came in 2005, when she was in her early 40s and working in oncology drug sales. The cancer was Stage II pleomorphic ILC with lymph node…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Lucy’s Survivor Story
Lucy was 47 when she found a pea-sized lump in the outer quadrant of her right breast during a self-exam in 2003. A mammogram and ultrasound did not show cancer, and she was told the lump was a fluid-filled cyst. Over the next 15 months, the area grew to the…
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