Immunotherapy: 111 Real Stories
111 stories match immunotherapy. 87 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Alisa’s Patient Story
Alisa Secaida was 35 when cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, chest tightness and shoulder pain were dismissed as asthma or long COVID. She paid for her own CT scan, which showed a mass in the upper left lung, and later biopsy confirmed Stage IVB non-small…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Esteban’s Survivor Story
Esteban Moreno pursued genetic testing after his father was diagnosed with colon cancer. The testing showed that Esteban had Lynch syndrome, and a routine colonoscopy then found a malignant tumor. Further evaluation showed that the cancer had already…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Shannin’s Patient Story
Shannin was 26 when months of severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting turned into a Stage IV colon cancer diagnosis. Her symptoms were first dismissed as food intolerance, but she knew something was wrong and kept seeking medical opinions. An urgent care…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Shannin’s Patient Story
Shannin was diagnosed on April 13, 2024, at age 26 with Stage IV metastatic colorectal cancer. Months earlier, she had severe left-lower abdominal pain after eating, nausea, vomiting, and a feeling that stool could not pass. Initial explanations such as food…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Tamara’s Patient Story
Tamara was a 50-year-old oncology infusion nurse when a routine physical in November 2023 unexpectedly showed severe anemia and nearly absent iron stores. She had no obvious symptoms, no rectal bleeding, and was still working normally, so the result did not…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Tamara’s Patient Story
Tamara was a 50-year-old oncology infusion nurse when her own cancer was found unexpectedly. She felt healthy and had no major symptoms, but an annual physical showed severe anemia. That result led to a colonoscopy and genetic testing. The testing revealed an…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Maggie’s Survivor Story
Maggie was applying for a U.S. green card when she was diagnosed in 2022 with de novo Stage IV triple-negative breast cancer. She is from the Netherlands and had planned to move to the United States because her wife is American. Before the diagnosis, she…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Eugenia’s Patient Story
Eugenia Horan was 46 when she was diagnosed with poorly differentiated non-small cell lung cancer. Her symptoms began after what seemed like a cold or flu in late 2018, followed by chest tightness, coughing blood, weight loss, and a racing pulse. Her concerns…
Read this storyStage IV Gastric Cancer: Mark’s Patient Story
Mark Scragg knew cancer risk ran in his family after he and several relatives learned they had Lynch syndrome. In May 2021, persistent fatigue and stomach pain led him to move up his yearly endoscopy and colonoscopy. Doctors found a stomach tumor, and…
Read this storyStage IV BRAF Colorectal Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer was 23 when a blood test showed extremely low iron and led to a colonoscopy. The scope found a tumor that blocked the camera, and she was diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2017. Surgery on December 29 used an open approach because doctors were…
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 storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Natalie’s Patient Story
Natalie Brown was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in June 2020 after about 6 months of testing, including X-rays, CT scans, PET scans and several biopsies. She had been dismissed at times because of her age and lack of smoking history. During one biopsy…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Casandra’s Patient Story
Casandra was 38 when she was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. For years, she had rectal bleeding and fatigue that she attributed to hemorrhoids, interstitial cystitis, and later recovery after gastric sleeve surgery. When the bleeding and fatigue…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was an active hiker and outdoor adventurer when a mild cough and chest pressure after a trip to India led to a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. She had never thought lung cancer was likely because she was a nonsmoker and very health-conscious. At…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Italia’s Survivor Story
Italia Russell was 30 when she found a breast lump in August 2023, 1 month after learning she carried a BRCA mutation that increased her lifetime breast cancer risk. Her mother had been treated 15 years earlier for Stage II triple-negative breast cancer and…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Ashley’s Survivor Story
Ashley Vasallo was 36 when she shared her story, 2 years after being diagnosed with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Before diagnosis, she had trouble swallowing, shortness of breath, stabbing chest pain, fatigue, vomiting, full-body swelling, clubbed…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Pascal’s Survivor Story
Pascal, 62, learned he had lung cancer after going to his general practitioner for a lump in his neck. He was sent to the emergency department, where a chest X-ray did not show anything clear, but CT scan, PET scan, and biopsy confirmed lung cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Florence’s Patient Story
Florence was 40 and living in Nîmes when unusual fatigue, stomach pain, and shortness of breath led her to medical care. She was first diagnosed with pericarditis and treated in the hospital, but deeper testing found the cause: lung cancer. Telling her…
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 storyStage IV Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Nick’s Patient Story
Nick Sprague, a firefighter and critical care paramedic, was diagnosed with colorectal adenocarcinoma at age 48 after 1 to 2 years of bowel changes, blood in the stool, abdominal pain, reflux-like symptoms, and fatigue. An emergency visit first led to a…
Read this storyStage II Lung Cancer: Att’s Patient Story
Att Callahan was 70 when months of coughing, followed by coughing up blood, led to testing and a Stage IIB lung cancer diagnosis. She did not smoke, was not overweight, and considered herself healthy, so the diagnosis was confusing and frightening. At MD…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Lenny’s Survivor Story
Lenny was diagnosed with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer in November 2019. He had never smoked. His first warning signs were a change in his walking, pain in his right leg, and later coughing and wheezing that felt different from his usual mild asthma…
Read this storyStage IV BRAF Colorectal Cancer: Sophie’s Survivor Story
Sophie was diagnosed with Stage IV bowel cancer in 2018 after months of unusual symptoms. Her first sign was sudden vomiting, followed later by severe anemia, stomach pain, intermittent diarrhea, and difficulty eating. Doctors initially investigated food…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Amy’s Patient Story
Amy Nicole was diagnosed with colon cancer after noticing only a small change in her stool. Initial blood work and other tests were normal, and her planned colonoscopy was delayed for about 1 year during COVID restrictions. When she finally had the…
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