Radiation: 614 Real Stories
614 stories match radiation. 511 of them mention surgery.
Stage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Eva’s Patient Story
Eva Joseph’s breast cancer journey began in March 2002, when a mammogram found two areas in her left breast. She first had a lumpectomy, but cancer remained at the margins, so she underwent a mastectomy. Cancer was also found in the sentinel lymph node…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine Cosby was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer in March 2018 after finding a lump in her right breast. Before treatment began, she joined a pilot study of exercise-based prehabilitation, giving her a practical way to build strength during the 2…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Tomma’s Patient Story
Tomma Hargraves discovered a small lump on the left side of her neck in 2006. A biopsy showed non-small cell lung cancer, and scans found a tumor in her right lung with extensive lymph node involvement. Her initial diagnosis was Stage III lung cancer. Tomma…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Tomma’s Patient Story
Tomma Hargraves noticed a small bump on the left side of her neck in October 2006. A biopsy led to a diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer, and scans showed a tumor in the upper right lung with extensive lymph-node involvement. She was diagnosed with Stage…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Cheryl’s Survivor Story
Cheryl West was already undergoing extensive treatment for a separate cancer of the hard palate when she received a breast-cancer diagnosis. In 2011, surgeons removed the right side of her hard palate, her maxilla, parts of the eye socket, soft palate, and…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Ximena’s Patient Story
Ximena Nardelli, a Colombian woman living in the United States, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 40. She had been careful about yearly breast screening because her sister had breast cancer, but she did not initially feel a breast lump. Before a 2018 trip…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Dan’s Patient Story
Dan DiNardo was 49 when he was diagnosed with advanced male breast cancer in 2015. He had first noticed a breast lump, but after a mammogram he was told to return if it changed. For nearly a year, the lump grew. Bleeding and skin changes finally pushed him to…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Keith’s Survivor Story
Keith Medovich’s lung cancer had been cured more than a decade earlier with high-dose chemotherapy and radiation, but late effects from treatment later threatened his breathing. By 2015, scarring from his 2003 radiation treatment had severely narrowed parts…
Read this storyStage I BRCA Breast Cancer Patient Story
N had no breast symptoms when her family doctor recommended mammography after menopause. Her mother had experienced breast cancer, although N reported no inherited BRCA finding. Extra mammogram images and an urgent ultrasound led to a direct diagnosis of…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Marese’s Survivor Story
Marese was referred to a breast specialist and diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. The news left her feeling numb, helpless, vulnerable, isolated, and worried about the future. She changed to a hospital closer to home, consulted a second oncologist…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Audrey’s Patient Story
Audrey, 66, had a strong family history of cancer: her mother had breast cancer, her sister had endometrial cancer, and her father had prostate cancer. She had previously undergone a left-breast quadrantectomy in 2010, with milk ducts removed to prevent…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Laura’s Survivor Story
Laura's breast cancer journey began after she experienced sharp pain in her right breast and nipple discharge. The diagnosis brought intense uncertainty, including fear of dying and fear of how treatment would affect her. Her care included surgery to remove…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Jaidive’s Survivor Story
Jaidive was 44 when she was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2020. She had lost both her maternal grandmother and mother to cancer, so finding a suspicious breast mass through self-examination was frightening. A breast cancer specialist confirmed the…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Serena’s Patient Story
Serena had no suspicious symptoms when a mammogram detected her cancer. She went on to have breast-conserving surgery with a lumpectomy, lymph node removal and radiation therapy, following her doctor’s recommendation. She is now undergoing hormone therapy…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Catherine’s Survivor Story
Catherine, 55, was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2020 after finding a lump. Cancer had already affected her family, including an aunt, uncle, and grandfather, so the diagnosis brought intense fear. Her doctor told her the estimated 5-year survival…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Vanessa’s Survivor Story
Vanessa Sanders had worked at MD Anderson for less than 1 year when she became a patient herself. She had felt a small lump in her left breast for years, but it had not bothered her. Then sharp chest pains began, sometimes so intense that they felt like labor…
Read this storyStage IV RET Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Sara’s Patient Story
Sara Whitlock was 47 when she was diagnosed in 2010 with Stage IV lung cancer and told her chance of surviving 5 years was about 3%. She feared she would not see her daughters grow up. Her lung cancer was non-small cell lung cancer caused by a RET fusion, a…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Mike’s Patient Story
Mike Fitzpatrick initially ignored symptoms that he thought were caused by a virus. By spring 2008, the symptoms had persisted, and his wife encouraged him to see a doctor. Screening led to a diagnosis of Stage III colon cancer. He was 44 and had six…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Suzanne’s Patient Story
Suzanne Kulliver had only just completed treatment for colon cancer when a routine annual mammogram in December 2015 led to another major diagnosis. Her doctor requested an ultrasound and biopsy, and Suzanne learned that she had breast cancer. The tumor was…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: James’s Patient Story
James “Rocky” Lagno developed a persistent dry cough around Thanksgiving 2010. As his breathing worsened and he began coughing up blood, lung cancer became a concern. He was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer and went to Boston for intravenous…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in December 2015 after changes in her left breast were easy to explain away at first. In late 2014, she noticed that her nipple was inverting and that the breast seemed to be shrinking. She was training for…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret’s fuller treatment story starts with the same breast changes she first noticed in late 2014: an inverted nipple and shrinking appearance in the left breast. A standard mammogram did not clearly show cancer, but a later 3D mammogram found the tumor…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Diana’s Patient Story
Diana Stork was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2016 and received daily radiation treatment at Dana-Farber. As a social scientist who had spent much of her career studying interpersonal behavior and organizational culture, she found herself closely…
Read this storyStage III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Mary’s Survivor Story
Mary, a retired woman living in Ireland, was diagnosed with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer in September 2019. She sought medical help after feeling unusual soreness and discomfort during floor exercises in a yoga class. The diagnosis was especially…
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