Complementary Therapy: 13 Real Stories
13 stories match complementary therapy. 9 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV Lung Cancer: Angie’s Patient Story
Angie Brice Hessbruegge was 37 and raising 2 young children when she was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in May 2019. She had never smoked. Her daughter was 6 and her son was 4, and Angie quickly learned that cancer affected the whole household. She spoke…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Rhonda’s Patient Story
Rhonda Schaller was living with metastatic breast cancer and the reality that progression could bring another treatment line. She described allowing herself to feel worry, tears, tiredness, confusion, and moments of laughter rather than trying to suppress any…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Silvia’s Patient Story
Silvia Litsching was 61, married, and the mother of 2 adult children when she described more than 20 years with breast cancer. She was first diagnosed in 1990 at age 38 after insisting that a breast lump be checked, even though earlier examinations had seemed…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Iris’s Survivor Story
Iris was in her 50s when she was diagnosed with 100% hormone-dependent breast cancer in February 2021. Because her mother had died of ovarian cancer and her aunt had breast cancer, Iris had already taken prevention seriously. Genetic testing at 43 had been…
Read this storyStage IV Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient Story
This story was shared by a pharmacist caring for her uncle after he was diagnosed in July 2020 with inoperable small cell lung cancer. Doctors estimated a life expectancy of 7 months with chemotherapy. Alongside chemotherapy, his caregiver introduced…
Read this storyStage IV Small Cell Lung Cancer: Sylvane’s Patient Story
Sylvane was 71 when a persistent dry cough in May 2020 led to a new cancer diagnosis. She had survived breast cancer 27 years earlier, in 1993, after chemotherapy, radiation, removal of the left breast, and removal of the lymph-node chain. This time, COVID…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Sarah’s Patient Story
Sarah was 53 when she was diagnosed in April 2019 with hormone-dependent, grade 1 infiltrating breast carcinoma. Several nodules measured 3 to 8 mm. After MRI, 3 oncologists recommended breast removal, followed by radiation and possibly chemotherapy. Sarah…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma Survivor Story
A 59-year-old woman was diagnosed in July 2018 with hormone-dependent, grade II bifocal invasive lobular breast cancer. The cancer involved 2 nodules, one measuring 18 mm and the other 15 mm. After several oncology visits, she decided not to follow the…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer Patient Story
This story was shared by the sister of a woman with aggressive lung cancer and bone metastases. The cancer involved the skull and spine and had caused a clavicle fracture. Around the same time, doctors also found a localized 4 cm breast cancer. She received…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Lisa’s Survivor Story
Lisa Roth was 59 when she reflected on colorectal cancer connected to Lynch syndrome, also called HNPCC. She was about 45 when the diagnosis first entered her life. One morning before work, she suddenly had intense urgency and heavy bleeding from the bowel…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Anna’s Patient Story
Anna Rusch was 71 when she described living with colon cancer and a permanent end stoma. About 3 years earlier, she noticed blood in her stool and went to a doctor, who first thought hemorrhoids were the cause. Only after a friend urged her to seek another…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Richard’s Survivor Story
Richard Linde was 61, married, and a father of 2 when he described colorectal cancer diagnosed 2 years earlier. He had not felt generally ill. The warning sign was repeated blood in his stool, which led him to contact his family doctor after 3 days…
Read this storyStage IV KRAS Colorectal Cancer: Lauren’s Patient Story
Lauren Bimage was 29 when she first noticed a breast lump after breastfeeding. It was initially thought to be a fibroadenoma, but years later pain and nipple changes led to mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy. She was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer…
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