colectomy: 48 Real Stories
48 stories match colectomy. 46 of them mention surgery.
Stage II Colorectal Cancer: Maddee’s Survivor Story
Maddee was diagnosed with Stage II colon cancer in February 2023 after months of symptoms that did not fit her active lifestyle. She first noticed fatigue and intermittent abdominal pain in December 2022. The symptoms then escalated to burning stomach pain…
Read this storyStage IV BRAF Colorectal Cancer: Sophie’s Survivor Story
Sophie was diagnosed with Stage IV bowel cancer in 2018 after nearly a year of unexplained symptoms. Vomiting, anemia, pain, diarrhea, and inability to keep food down were first investigated as possible Crohn’s disease. Colonoscopy, MRI, and CT then showed a…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Jay’s Patient Story
Jay Reese was 36 in 1987 when abdominal pain, bloody stool, and edema led to a colon cancer diagnosis. He underwent surgery, followed by 6 weeks of radiation and 1 year of chemotherapy. After treatment, he had annual colonoscopies and went nearly 25 years…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Savannah’s Survivor Story
Savannah Kaspar was 26 when abdominal pain, severe constipation, and bloody stools pushed her to seek answers. A colonoscopy in August found a mass in her sigmoid colon. It was first described as noncancerous, but Savannah came to MD Anderson, where imaging…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Elaine’s Survivor Story
Elaine’s colorectal cancer was discovered after a fecal immunochemical test led to a colonoscopy in November 2024. The colonoscopy showed Stage III colon adenocarcinoma. Elaine approached the diagnosis with optimism and felt encouraged by the confidence of…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Ashley’s Patient Story
Ashley developed persistent heartburn and felt full after only small amounts of food. An initial diagnosis and medication did not explain the worsening symptoms, so Ashley sought another opinion after roughly 6 months to a year. In January 2023, testing…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Ceejay’s Patient Story
Ceejay first noticed breathlessness, which was traced to severe anemia. Blood tests and bowel tests followed, along with symptoms that included alternating diarrhea and constipation and a feeling that the bowel did not empty completely. Further evaluation led…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Colin’s Survivor Story
Colin, a truck driver living in Australia, sought medical care in August 2023 after several weeks of an upset stomach. Testing showed Stage III colon adenocarcinoma. Although he had suspected bowel cancer might be the cause, he tried to stay optimistic after…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer Patient Story
J Fletcher was diagnosed with Stage II colorectal cancer after blood in the stool and cramping prompted medical attention. The diagnosis brought anger, fear, sadness and a strong sense of uncertainty about the future. At the time of the story, treatment had…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Dan’s Survivor Story
Dan Gut was 39 when symptoms he had ignored for about 18 months led to a major colorectal cancer prevention surgery. He had changes in bowel habits and blood in his stool, often after eating ice cream, and thought he might be lactose intolerant. When the…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Gordon’s Survivor Story
Gordon was diagnosed with Stage II colorectal adenocarcinoma in January 2022 after constipation and blood in his stool led to a home screening test and further evaluation. He underwent a partial colectomy. After surgery he was readmitted to hospital twice…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Lee’s Survivor Story
Lee Jones was 55 when a CT scan for what seemed like a prostate infection unexpectedly found 5 spots on his liver. A colonoscopy soon identified the primary tumor in his colon, making the diagnosis Stage IV colon cancer because it had already spread to the…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Angela’s Survivor Story
Angela developed diarrhea, blood in the stool, weight loss, loss of appetite and general discomfort over several months. Access to medical care was difficult during the COVID period, and when Angela was eventually assessed, what had seemed like it might be…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Anna’s Survivor Story
Anna’s colorectal cancer was found through routine bowel screening even though there were no symptoms. A colonoscopy identified a tumor, and the diagnosis was Stage III colorectal cancer. The news was especially difficult because Anna had already lost a…
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 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 I Colorectal Cancer: Aloysius’s Patient Story
Aloysius had no cancer symptoms when a routine medical checkup led his doctor to recommend further testing. The additional evaluation eventually resulted in a diagnosis of Stage I colorectal cancer. Following the diagnosis, he underwent a partial colectomy to…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Jana’s Survivor Story
Jana learned she had Stage I colon adenocarcinoma in July 2020 after stabbing stomach pain, blood in her stool, weight loss and feeling unwell led to further testing. At first, she was told the cancer might also involve her liver and lungs, which made the…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Andy’s Survivor Story
A routine colonoscopy a few years ago led to Andy’s diagnosis of Stage I colorectal cancer. Doctors said the 5-year survival rate was 90%, which offered some reassurance, but the diagnosis still brought fear, surprise, nervousness and worry, especially…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Clement’s Patient Story
Clement sought medical care after vomiting blood and noticing blood in his stool. The evaluation led to a diagnosis of Stage II colorectal cancer. He described the diagnosis as an emotional shock, bringing anger, sadness, fear, and concern about his own…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Anne-Marie’s Survivor Story
Anne-Marie was diagnosed with Stage II colon adenocarcinoma in June 2019 after a bowel screening program detected the cancer. The diagnosis came after about 12 months of earlier concerns that had been attributed to other causes. A strong family history of…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Gerres, 32, was a podiatric surgery resident when she developed pain and nausea that progressed to passing clotted blood and severe cramps. Her husband urged her to call Cleveland Clinic’s same-day appointment line, and the care team convinced her to…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Betsy’s Patient Story
Betsy sought medical attention immediately after severe rectal bleeding and was diagnosed in April 2020 with Stage III colon adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis was unexpected because Betsy had felt well and had been living a healthy lifestyle. Treatment began with…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Alecia’s Patient Story
Alecia learned she had Stage IV colorectal cancer in August 2020 after a blood test showed a hemoglobin level of 6 and a colonoscopy found colon adenocarcinoma. Before diagnosis she had frequent diarrhea and fatigue. She began treatment with 4 cycles of…
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