Radiation: 614 Real Stories
614 stories match radiation. 511 of them mention surgery.
Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Monica’s Survivor Story
Monica was 36 when she felt a firm knot in her breast while working on shoulder strength after unrelated injuries. Imaging quickly raised concern, and a surgical biopsy led to a Stage IIB breast cancer diagnosis on November 2. Her doctors wanted chemotherapy…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Bethany’s Patient Story
Bethany was 33 when a breast lump she had watched for months became impossible to dismiss. Earlier breast lumps in her 20s had turned out to be cysts or swollen lymph nodes, and she had dense breast tissue, so she first assumed this one was benign too. The…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Margaret’s Survivor Story
Margaret’s Stage II breast cancer involved both invasive ductal carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ. She first noticed left-breast pain and an inverted nipple. Mammogram and biopsy led to diagnosis, followed by rapid decisions about surgery, scans…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Doreen’s Patient Story
Doreen was diagnosed with Stage IIA triple-positive invasive ductal breast cancer after finding a lump in her left breast during a work trip. Getting the right imaging took persistence: after several calls and one wrong order, she finally had the correct…
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 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 IV Colorectal Cancer: Jackie’s Patient Story
Jackie was diagnosed with Stage IIIB rectal cancer after constant blood in her stool and worsening constipation led to colonoscopy. CT imaging raised concern for a liver spot, but that finding was later considered nothing. Genetic testing then showed Lynch…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Maria’s Survivor Story
Maria’s Stage IIIC rectal cancer was first mistaken for other problems. She was tired, lost about 20 pounds, and had a high pulse during a physical for maritime work. Doctors found a bladder infection that would not clear, then later suspected appendicitis…
Read this storySmall Cell Lung Cancer: Montessa’s Survivor Story
Montessa was 28, a non-smoker, and working as a mentor teacher when symptoms that first seemed like inflammation or bronchitis turned into a small cell lung cancer diagnosis. She had chest pain, a lingering cough, back pain, and eventually oxygen levels…
Read this storyStage III Lung Cancer: Peter’s Survivor Story
Peter was 80 and felt well when he joined the NHS Galleri trial. He had spent 31 years in the police force, stayed active, and had never smoked. After a blood test through the trial, he received a call saying something in his lung needed investigation. MRI…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Ben’s Patient Story
Ben Schultz was 33 when he first told a doctor that he had blood in his stool. The symptom was attributed to constipation. Two years later, it returned and became worse. A different doctor took Ben’s family history seriously and ordered a colonoscopy. On…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Carrie’s Patient Story
Carrie was a full-time elementary music teacher and single mother when she suddenly became very sick with stomach pain, gas, nausea, and vomiting. A walk-in clinic told her it was probably gas, but the symptoms did not improve. After she became sick in a…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer Patient Story
The patient was 41, active in bodybuilding, and up to date on mammograms when she first noticed blood from her nipple rather than a breast lump. After the bleeding stopped, she was initially sent home. About 1 month later, she developed a large breast lump…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Jake’s Patient Story
Jake was 15 when severe migraines began in late 2012. For about 25 days, he hid the pain, took large amounts of Advil, and kept playing sports until his mother pushed for an MRI. The scan showed a golf-ball-sized tumor in his cerebellum. After brain surgery…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Gynna’s Patient Story
Gynna, who lives in Colombia, first noticed a small breast lump in 2017, but doctors were not initially worried. After she recovered from COVID-19 in January 2021, the lump felt different and much larger. Her doctor sent her for a biopsy, and 7 tissue samples…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was 22 when she noticed a breast lump in 2019. Because she was so young, doctors first considered causes such as a cyst or infection, but biopsy eventually confirmed breast cancer. Further testing found cancer in her rib and lymph nodes, making it…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jeffrey’s Survivor Story
Jeffrey had completed prostate cancer treatment in July 2022 and was already committed to routine screening when he went for a scheduled colonoscopy in August 2023. He felt well and expected a normal result, but the doctor found polyps and a significant mass…
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 III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Susie’s Survivor Story
Susie started smoking as a teenager because it was what many of her friends did. She tried to give up several times over the years but found it difficult. Later, she developed lung cancer that she directly linked to smoking. The title identifies her diagnosis…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: David’s Patient Story
David spent months trying to get answers for worsening digestive symptoms, severe fatigue, ribbony stool, blood in his stool, and about 70 pounds of weight loss. His symptoms were repeatedly attributed to stress, depression, anxiety, medication effects, or…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Joelle’s Patient Story
Joelle was 36 when she was diagnosed with Stage IV hormone-positive breast cancer. Some warning signs appeared around pregnancy and postpartum life: severe nausea during pregnancy, milk never coming in from the right breast, intermittent right nipple…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Erica’s Patient Story
Erica was 41, active, and working as a P.E. teacher when breast cancer became part of her daily life again. Her first diagnosis was Stage I hormone-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. She completed chemotherapy in February 2025 and had a double mastectomy…
Read this storyStage IV Melanoma: Ken’s Survivor Story
Ken Herich had watched a growth on his right hand for about 10 years before an old friend, a retired physician, warned him it looked like melanoma. Doctors initially believed it was melanoma in situ, and in mid-2019 Ken had a wide excision with clear nearby…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Liz’s Survivor Story
Dr. Liz O’Riordan had spent 20 years treating breast cancer patients, but at 40 she became a patient herself. After a shower, she noticed a lump in her left cleavage and assumed it was a cyst. Her mammogram was normal, but ultrasound showed cancer. The…
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