Fertility Preservation: 35 Real Stories
35 stories match fertility preservation. 32 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV Colorectal Cancer: Tim’s Patient Story
Tim Meier was 31 when he described living with rectal cancer that had repeatedly spread to the liver. In late 2020, depression, constant fatigue, fever episodes, and side pain led to medical testing. Ultrasound showed suspicious findings in the liver, and…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Petra’s Patient Story
Petra Thomas was 32 when she described life 2 years after being diagnosed with Stage III rectal cancer. Blood in her stool first appeared about 9 months before diagnosis, but she was initially reassured that she was too young for cancer and probably had…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Laura’s Patient Story
Laura Filip was 34 when she was living through treatment for rectal cancer diagnosed in December 2022. Blood in her stool during summer 2022 led to testing, including a colonoscopy that found the tumor. A coronavirus infection delayed her hospital admission…
Read this storyBRCA1 Breast Cancer: Alina’s Survivor Story
Alina Schiller was 30 when she shared life after early-stage breast cancer. She found a lump while changing clothes and went to a gynecologist, who referred her to a breast center. Biopsy confirmed breast cancer in 2018, and BRCA1 testing found a mutation at…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Eva’s Patient Story
Eva Manz was 39 and living with her partner when she looked back on 2 breast cancer diagnoses. She was first diagnosed at 31. At that time, her left breast was removed and reconstructed at the same operation. The loss of the breast affected her deeply, even…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Leon’s Patient Story
Leon Gerspacher was 20 when fatigue and digestive problems led to colonoscopy and CT scans that found rectal cancer. He was a science student and living with his girlfriend, and the diagnosis quickly changed his plans. Initial treatment used radiation therapy…
Read this storyStage III EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren was 38 and celebrating her first year as a mother when she began training for a half marathon and noticed what felt like a pulled muscle in her neck. An initial X-ray was explained as a possible old injury, but Lauren did not feel that answer fit, so…
Read this storyOvarian Cancer: Bryn’s Survivor Story
Bryn Cloud was in her early 20s when worsening lower-back pain, low-grade fever and a growing stomach bulge appeared in March 2020. At first, she wondered if she had COVID-19, but ultrasound imaging near home suggested a serious abdominal problem. Her family…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Roxanne’s Survivor Story
Roxanne, from Anchorage, Alaska, was 36 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIB grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma in April 2024. The first clue came the previous summer, when her boyfriend noticed a bump in the right breast. She saw her primary care doctor in…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Rosanna’s Survivor Story
Rosanna Silber was 31, finishing a doctorate in nursing and planning her wedding, when she noticed a pea-sized lump in her left breast. A local doctor thought it was likely a benign cyst, but Rosanna knew her body and pushed for more testing after returning…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Lucy’s Survivor Story
Lucy found a breast lump at 23, months after learning that she carried a germline BRCA1 mutation. Several clinicians thought the area felt like fibrous tissue, but because of her inherited risk she continued with imaging and biopsy. Three days after her 24th…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Catherine’s Patient Story
Catherine was 10 weeks pregnant when persistent rectal bleeding, bloating, and trouble going to the bathroom led to sigmoidoscopy. The procedure found a rectal tumor. Further CT, MRI, and biopsy workup showed Stage III rectal cancer: it had reached lymph…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Rach’s Patient Story
Rach D. was 27 when she noticed a change in her right breast during her honeymoon. At first, she was unsure whether the lump had always been there. A January physical exam became the turning point: her doctor felt 3 masses and sent her for ultrasound. The…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Joanna’s Survivor Story
Joanna developed rectal bleeding, stomachaches, bloating, and food-related discomfort that worsened over about 1.5 years. Because she was young and active, cancer was not initially discussed. She first contacted her gynecologist, then waited months for a…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA Breast Cancer: Maralee’s Survivor Story
Maralee Lellio was 28 when she noticed a breast lump in 2018. A first evaluation called it a benign fibroadenoma, but the lump grew and became painful. Further mammogram and biopsy showed Stage II breast cancer. Before treatment, Maralee and her husband froze…
Read this storyStage II Lung Cancer: Michelle’s Patient Story
Michelle’s lung cancer was found while doctors were investigating a completely different problem. After a fall, she developed persistent pain that moved into her jaw, head, and neck and caused migraine-like symptoms. Months of physical therapy, pain…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Marina’s Survivor Story
Marina is a Stage II breast cancer survivor who has gone through chemotherapy twice and now shares what helped her feel more prepared. Her chemotherapy included A&C followed by Taxol, and she learned that hair loss could begin around 14 to 20 days into each…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Marina’s Survivor Story
Marina was 31 and had just qualified for the Boston Marathon when she noticed a daily ache in her breast. Her mother had survived breast cancer twice and was known to carry a BRCA1 mutation, so Marina already understood that breast cancer could run in her…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Janet’s Patient Story
Janet Ayala was 35 when she felt a breast lump while getting ready for a shower in summer 2024. After difficulty getting a diagnostic mammogram appointment, she finally had imaging in September and was told right away it was breast cancer. The diagnosis was…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Rylie’s Patient Story
Rylie was 27 when repeated emergency-room visits for lower-left abdominal pain and bloating led to a Stage IV colon cancer diagnosis. At first, she was sent home after being told the problem might be constipation. During another visit, doctors kept her for…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Steven’s Patient Story
Steven Huff was 29, newly engaged, and starting a teaching career when shortness of breath, a daily cough, and a lump near his collarbone led to a lung cancer diagnosis. Doctors told him he had Stage IV non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma, with cancer in both…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine was 31 when she noticed a visible divot and a large, hard, immovable lump in her breast. Imaging and biopsy confirmed stage 3 triple-positive breast cancer. MRI measured the tumor at nearly 8 cm and showed at least 2 involved lymph nodes, with 4…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Marissa’s Survivor Story
Marissa Sweitzer’s breast cancer was found just after she gave birth to her daughter, Melody, in February 2024. Late in pregnancy, she had noticed a breast lump while applying lotion. Because breast changes are common during pregnancy, her doctor arranged for…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Juliette’s Survivor Story
Juliette Landgrave was 38, healthy and years away from routine mammography when she felt a breast lump in the shower. Imaging found two tumors: the one she could feel and another deeper tumor seen only on MRI. She was diagnosed with triple-negative breast…
Read this story