Radiation: 614 Real Stories
614 stories match radiation. 511 of them mention surgery.
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Sandra’s Survivor Story
Sandra Monsonís was 43 and had not had a medical checkup for more than 5 years when a friend encouraged her to see a gynecologist. She had some breast discomfort but did not feel a clear lump. That visit found a lump that became a triple-negative breast…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Martha’s Survivor Story
Martha had a dense area in her right breast that worried her throughout her 40s. Multiple mammograms over about 10 years were read as benign. At 49, another mammogram and an ultrasound were also considered benign, but Martha consulted a surgeon who agreed the…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Kathleen’s Survivor Story
Kathleen Shaffer was diagnosed with right breast cancer in early 2019. She had a lumpectomy and 2 lymph nodes removed in March, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. After finishing cancer treatment, she expected to move forward, but new pain and swelling…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Theresa’s Patient Story
Theresa Reynolds was 85 when she learned she had breast cancer and needed a mastectomy. Her first instinct was to avoid treatment. Her mother had also had breast cancer, and Theresa remembered what that experience looked like. She worried about putting…
Read this storyBRCA1 Breast Cancer: Muriel’s Survivor Story
Muriel Verger was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2015, when she was 33 and close to turning 34. She also reported a BRCA1 abnormality. Because the tumor was not large, her surgical treatment was a tumorectomy, also understood as…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA2 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Julie’s Patient Story
Julie is an emergency medicine physician in Maryland, a wife, and a mother of 3. In October 2019, soon after a family trip to Italy, she noticed a small indentation on the outer part of her right breast while getting out of the shower. A mammogram did not…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Màrius’s Patient Story
Màrius Soler is a man with breast cancer and the founder of INVI, an association created to make men with breast cancer visible. His story began with a small lump behind the nipple. Like many men, he did not immediately think of breast cancer and waited about…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Angie’s Patient Story
Angie is a nurse and RN case manager in Louisiana. Because of earlier microcalcifications, she had been getting annual mammograms. She postponed a February 2017 mammogram until May because she had started a new job and expected another negative result. This…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Maureen’s Patient Story
Maureen is an entomologist who spent her career on university campuses and now lives in Georgia. At the beginning of the COVID epidemic in 2020, she was diagnosed by biopsy with pleomorphic invasive lobular carcinoma. Hospitals were limiting access to…
Read this storyStage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Jeanine’s Patient Story
Jeanine had annual mammograms for 10 years because of a family history of breast cancer. In 2016, after years of watching microcalcifications, she noticed that a cyst-like area in her right breast would not go away and that the same breast had slight…
Read this storyStage I EGFR Lung Adenocarcinoma: Ashley’s Patient Story
Ashley Stringer was 34 when shortness of breath on the treadmill led to a lung cancer diagnosis. An X-ray showed a suspicious spot on her left lung, and biopsy confirmed Stage IA adenocarcinoma. Tumor testing showed the cancer was EGFR-positive. Because only…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Susie’s’s Patient Story
Susie became involved with the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance after her daughter was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma. Her daughter was 42 and living in California when doctors found an 8 cm ILC in the left breast. Her mammogram had been clear the…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Hillary’s Survivor Story
Hillary Robinson was 52 when a routine medical exam found something abnormal in her right breast. She had been busy with family, community work and her family’s manufacturing business, and she had put off yearly mammograms. An ultrasound and mammogram showed…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Brandon’s Survivor Story
Brandon Dale was 53 when he shared how symptoms he thought were hemorrhoids turned out to be Stage III rectal cancer. For years, he had burning and discomfort that would flare up, settle down with cream, and then return. He did not realize the problem was…
Read this storySmall Cell Lung Cancer: Montessa’s Survivor Story
Montessa Lee was 28 when she was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, a diagnosis that came far earlier in life than many people expect. This third part of her Patient Story series focuses on navigating life after diagnosis and treatment. Her treatment path…
Read this storySmall Cell Lung Cancer: Montessa’s Survivor Story
Montessa Lee was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer at 28. This second video in her series centers on getting through treatment. The treatment path named for her story is chemotherapy, radiation, and brain radiation. That combination shaped both the…
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 storyStage III KRAS Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Terri’s Survivor Story
Terri Conneran was 55 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIIA KRAS-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. Her symptoms first looked like asthma, allergies, bronchitis, or pneumonia, but breathing problems kept getting worse. An X-ray done after she developed…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Melissa’s Patient Story
Melissa, from Australia, initially thought pain and twinges around her ribs might be fractures. Her general practitioner ordered a chest X-ray and also suggested her first mammogram and breast ultrasound. The testing found stage 1 breast cancer in 2021. The…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Ana’s Survivor Story
Ana was 57 and living in Colombia when she found a lump in her left breast while bathing. A general practitioner arranged a mammogram and then a biopsy, which confirmed stage 2 breast cancer. She was a stay-at-home mother of 3 and the head of her household…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Ingrid’s Patient Story
Ingrid’s breast cancer was found during follow-up after an annual gynecology visit, when mammography showed a breast mass. An oncologist performed a biopsy and confirmed stage 2 breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy, lymphadenectomy, chemotherapy, and…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Chad’s Patient Story
Chad noticed blood in his stool and sought medical care, eventually receiving a diagnosis of Stage II colorectal cancer. He pursued a second opinion because he wanted more information about his options. The diagnosis brought fear, worry, and a sense of…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Cleo’s Survivor Story
Cleo was diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer in February 2021 after weight loss, persistent stomach pain, and blood in her stool led to a colonoscopy. The tumor had begun to spread locally but was still described as contained within the colon. The…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Cherie’s Survivor Story
Cherie was 57 when she felt a hard lump in her breast. After receiving a stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis, she sought a second opinion from a more experienced doctor. She also researched her condition and found an estimated 85% 5-year survival rate for people…
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