Diagnostic Workup: 12 Real Stories
12 stories match diagnostic workup. 5 of them mention surgery.
Stage II Colorectal Cancer: Jay’s Survivor Story
Jay McCoy was 48 when a scheduled executive physical and routine colonoscopy unexpectedly found Stage II colon cancer. His wife, a family medicine physician, arranged the colonoscopy because screening recommendations had shifted to begin at age 45. During the…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer: Lauren’s Patient Story
Lauren Koy was 25 when years of breathing problems finally led to a lung cancer diagnosis. Since childhood, she had been treated for asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinus infections, and upper-respiratory infections. She often wheezed, spiked unexplained…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Tiffany’s Patient Story
Tiffany was 38 when symptoms that first seemed ordinary became a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. In early 2020, she noticed pain in her right rib and thought she might have pulled a muscle. During a hiking trip in Colorado that July, she became so short of…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Amanda’s Patient Story
Amanda was 29 when she was diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer after nearly a year of symptoms. Around August or September 2019, she developed daily IBS-like stomach gurgling. About 1 month later, she began seeing blood in her stool. Urgent care told her it…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer: Debra’s Survivor Story
Debra Haberstroh went to the emergency room over the 2023 New Year’s holiday after her oxygen level dropped to 85%. Because she had asthma and felt poorly, the emergency physician ordered a CT scan to look for pneumonia. Instead, the scan found a tumor in her…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren Koy lived with breathing problems for much of her life before lung cancer was found. She had chronic wheezing, repeated bronchitis and pneumonia, and difficulty doing the activities she enjoyed, including running and hiking. Because she was young and…
Read this storyStage II Lung Cancer: Christine’s Patient Story
Christine was 31 and already in treatment for breast cancer when a second cancer was found unexpectedly. Imaging during her breast cancer care showed a lung finding, even though she had no lung symptoms. At first, the finding was treated as possibly…
Read this storyNon-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Susan’s Survivor Story
Susan Taylor was 71 when complications from a double knee replacement unexpectedly led to an early lung cancer diagnosis. After the knee surgery, she developed blood clots in both legs and lungs. A later chest X-ray found a mass in her left lung, which Susan…
Read this storySmall Cell Lung Cancer: Montessa’s Survivor Story
Montessa Lee was 28 when she was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. This first video in her series focuses on how she got diagnosed, then connects to later parts about treatment and support. The diagnosis itself challenged assumptions about who gets lung…
Read this storyPeutz-Jeghers syndrome / hereditary GI polyposis risk; no confirmed colorectal cancer diagnosis: Kara’s Patient Story
Kara Fahey was about 8 when an emergency evaluation during a family trip led to a Peutz-Jeghers syndrome diagnosis. The condition is hereditary and causes benign polyps throughout the gastrointestinal tract, along with dark spots on areas such as the lips and…
Read this storyLung Cancer Patient Story
By January 2016, this Spanish lung cancer blogger was marking 2 years of survival while facing a new treatment setback. Recent bronchoscopy and blood testing confirmed that the cancer had developed resistance, including the T790M mutation. That finding…
Read this storyLung Cancer Patient Story
In January 2016, this lung cancer patient learned that a recent CT scan explained his worsening cough. The scan showed clear progression: the right upper-lobe mass had grown to about 4.9 x 5 cm, with extension to the visceral pleura, involvement around the…
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