Prior breast cancer treated with radiation, then radiation-related heart damage

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 60s

Breast cancer treatment had been completed 10 years earlier; the case mainly documents successful surgery for radiation-associated coronary and aortic valve disease, with no major cardiac events at 5 years.

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Stage IV small-cell esophageal cancer: initial complete response before brain, lung, liver, and adrenal progression

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: pancytokeratin and CD56; PD-L1 TPS 5%; later lung lesion Ki-67 80%.

Metastatic Site: abdominal lymph nodes, brain, lung, liver, right…

After an extended initial complete response, she developed progressive metastatic disease involving brain, lung, liver, and right adrenal gland; whole-brain radiation and lurbinectedin were started, but septic shock and acute hypoxic respiratory failure with ARDS led to comfort care.

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Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Linda's Patient Story

Patient Info: Linda | Stage III

In 2025, Linda was still receiving chemotherapy after radiation therapy for Stage III colorectal cancer and was awaiting post-treatment imaging.

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Metastatic Colorectal Cancer With Severe Hypocalcemia After Denosumab

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 70+ | Stage IV

Biomarkers: MLH1, PMS2, MSH2 and MSH6 retained; DPYD wild type

Metastatic Site: bone, liver

Bone imaging in November 2023 showed progression with more extensive skeletal involvement while he remained under care for metastatic colorectal cancer.

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Metastatic breast cancer with receptor evolution: sequential endocrine, immunotherapy, CDK4/6, and antibody-drug conjugate treatment

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Markers changed over time: initial tumor ER-positive/HER2-negative; local recurrence triple-negative/HER2-low; pleural fluid ER-negative.

Metastatic Site: mediastinal lymph nodes, pleura; pulmonary nodules…

More than 7 years after diagnosis, she remained on sequential systemic therapy for metastatic breast cancer, with at least a partial response 3 months after starting sacituzumab govitecan for presumed triple-negative pleural disease.

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HER2-Positive Breast Cancer With Metastatic Progression and Drug-Induced Lupus During T-DM1

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ER-positive, PR-negative, HER2-positive

Metastatic Site: bones, axillary lymph nodes, intra-abdominal lymph…

More than 5 years after her March 2018 diagnosis, she was living with metastatic breast cancer, but T-DM1 had been stopped after disease progression in 2023.

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Long-Lasting Pembrolizumab Response in Stage III Lung Adenocarcinoma With STK11, TP53 and RB1 Mutations

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 60s | Stage III

Biomarkers: TP53 and RB1 mutations; high tumor mutational burden; PD-L1 70%

Pembrolizumab produced a partial response within 3 months, improved his breathing and fatigue, and was continued for more than 2 years without significant immune-related toxicity.

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Doctors Assured Me It Wasn’t Cancer!

Patient Info: Shirley, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ALK-rearranged

Metastatic Site: mediastinum, pleura

Shirley was living with Stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer on a phase 2 ALK clinical trial; scans remained stable after 2 scan sets, but the large mass persisted.

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Stage IV luminal B HER2-negative breast cancer with liver-limited metastasis resected after systemic therapy

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 40s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Luminal B; HER2-negative

Metastatic Site: liver

After liver segmentectomy for breast-cancer liver metastasis, follow-up imaging showed no remaining liver nodes, and she remained fit, well, disease-free, and on maintenance letrozole plus goserelin.

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Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Marissa's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Marissa Sweitzer, Female, Under 40

Biomarkers: ER-negative; PR-negative; HER2-negative; no breast cancer genetic mutation reported

As of December 2024, Marissa had a complete response to treatment and no evidence of cancer after postpartum triple-negative breast cancer involving the breast and lymph nodes was treated with chemotherapy, double mastectomy and 5 weeks of radiation.

Cleveland ClinicRead more →

Small Cell Lung Cancer With Paraneoplastic Cushing Syndrome Treated With Immunochemotherapy

Patient Info: Anonymized, male, 60s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: PD-L1 negative; low tumor mutation burden; microsatellite stable

Metastatic Site: liver, abdominal wall, left ilium

He lived 20 months after diagnosis. After repeated treatment responses and later progression, he died in September 2023 from respiratory and cardiac failure during a severe infection following treatment-related myelosuppression.

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Stage 4 HR-positive breast cancer: stable disease on ribociclib

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 40s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: ER-positive; PR-positive; HER2-negative

Metastatic Site: left iliac bone

Metastatic HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer remained without progression as of October 2024 while she continued ribociclib 400 mg plus letrozole after SBRT to a left iliac bone metastasis.

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Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Juliette's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Juliette Landgrave, Female, Under 40

Biomarkers: ER-negative; PR-negative; HER2-negative

After egg preservation, 16 rounds of chemotherapy with complete response, lumpectomy, 25 radiation sessions and 1 year of immunotherapy, Juliette was cancer-free as of December 2024.

City of HopeRead more →

Stage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Leah's Patient Story

Patient Info: Leah Phillips, Female, 40s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: EGFR mutation

Metastatic Site: Not reported

As of December 2024, Leah was recovering well a few weeks after right-middle-lobe lobectomy, but remained a Stage IV EGFR-mutated lung cancer patient needing ongoing treatment and follow-up.

MD AndersonRead more →

Breast Cancer: Anna's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Anna, Female, Under 40

As of December 2024, Anna was about 7 years beyond her breast cancer diagnosis and living in survivorship, with ongoing emotional, fertility and family impacts described.

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Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Jose's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Jose Santos, Male, 40s | Stage III

As of December 2024, more than 2 years after surgery for Stage III colorectal cancer, Jose had no evidence of disease, had adapted well to his ileostomy, and no longer had ulcerative colitis symptoms.

City of HopeRead more →

Breast Cancer Recurrence in the Small Intestine and Bone More Than 5 Years After Diagnosis

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 50s | Stage IV

Biomarkers: Initial ER-positive, PR-positive, HER2-negative; metastatic lesion ER-negative, PR-negative, triple negative

Metastatic Site: small intestine, bone, right fallopian tube

More than 5 years after her December 2018 diagnosis, she was alive at 1-year follow-up after metastatic recurrence, with multiple bone metastases still present.

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Stage IV Lung Adenocarcinoma With Delayed Pembrolizumab-Related Pneumonitis

Patient Info: Anonymized, female, 70+ | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: contralateral lung

After brachytherapy and continued pembrolizumab, imaging 1 year later showed a smaller right hilar lesion with otherwise stable disease. She later recovered from delayed pembrolizumab-related pneumonitis after immunotherapy had been stopped.

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Stage III Lung Cancer: Heidi's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Heidi, Female | Stage III

As of November 2024, Heidi was 6 years beyond her Stage IIIA lung cancer diagnosis and active in survivorship and advocacy through The White Ribbon Project; no explicit NED status was provided.

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Stage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Filipe's Patient Story

Patient Info: Filipe, Male, Under 40 | Stage IV

Biomarkers: EGFR exon 19 deletion

Metastatic Site: brain, bone, left lung, kidney

As of November 2024, Filipe was living with ongoing Stage IV EGFR exon 19-mutated lung cancer after initial response to osimertinib, later progression and current amivantamab plus chemotherapy.

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Stage I lung adenocarcinoma treated with SBRT after pacemaker relocation

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 70+ | Stage I

As of December 2024, CT showed complete resolution of the lung ground-glass lesion and no recurrence 4 years and 10 months after SBRT for Stage I lung adenocarcinoma, with stable pacemaker function.

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Stage IV Breast Cancer: Nina's Survivor Story

Patient Info: Nina, Female, Under 40 | Stage IV

Metastatic Site: Spine

As of November 2024, Nina had Stage IV metastatic breast cancer with prior spine metastasis, remained on indefinite infusions and medications, and had current scans showing no evidence of disease.

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Jazz: Stage III / borderline Stage IV colorectal cancer

Patient Info: Jazz, Male | Stage III

As of November 2024, Jazz was in active treatment for Stage III / borderline Stage IV colorectal cancer after colostomy surgery, chemotherapy, stomach tumor removal, and radiation, with surgery still planned for the remaining tumor.

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Rare squamous cell breast cancer: tumorectomy and partial mastectomy

Patient Info: Anonymized, Female, 40s | Stage I

Biomarkers: ER-negative; PR-negative; HER2-negative; Ki-67 21%, triple negative

As of August 2024, she had no recurrence 4 years after surgery, adjuvant AC/docetaxel chemotherapy, and residual breast irradiation for Stage I squamous cell carcinoma of the breast arising in a benign phyllodes tumor.

PubMed CentralRead more →