Supportive Care: 133 Real Stories
133 stories match supportive care. 80 of them mention surgery.
Stage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Christine’s Patient Story
Christine was 57, active, and previously healthy when shortness of breath, clavicle pain, and shoulder pain led to imaging. X-ray, CT, MRI, and PET scans showed pleural and cardiac effusions and Stage IV adenocarcinoma non-small cell lung cancer. She had…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: April’s Patient Story
April Donaldson was 40 when she found 4 lumps along the side of her left breast in January 2020, only months after a normal mammogram. Around the same time, she received genetic testing results showing she was BRCA1 positive. Biopsy confirmed triple-negative…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Trevor’s Patient Story
Trevor Maxwell was about 40 when fatigue became impossible to ignore. Through 2017 and early 2018, he became more tired, and eventually walking up stairs made his heart pound. Blood work showed significant anemia, and his doctor sent him for a colonoscopy. On…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Britney’s Patient Story
Britney Beadle was 18 and still in high school when she found a breast lump in February 2015. An ultrasound and mammogram were arranged, but she was told 18-year-olds do not get breast cancer. A few months later, the lump had grown and her nipple inverted…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Megan-Claire’s Survivor Story
Megan-Claire, also known as Warrior Meg, expected cancer might come from the ovarian or cervical cancer patterns in her family. Instead, she was diagnosed with Stage II invasive lobular breast cancer shortly after turning 39. Earlier, a preventive mammogram…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Lucinda’s Patient Story
Lucinda Rudolph was 68 when an annual breast cancer screening in April 2020 led to a frightening local assessment. She had been treated for breast cancer 10 years earlier with lumpectomy and radiation, and this new cancer was initially described as…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: JJ’s Patient Story
JJ was 27 when months of stomach pain led to an initial Stage II / borderline Stage III colon cancer diagnosis. Surgery removed about 80% of his colon and about 36 inches of small intestine because of how the tumor had grown. He also received 6 rounds of…
Read this storyStage III Breast Cancer: Margaret’s Patient Story
Margaret, a mother of two from Ireland, noticed a large breast lump that appeared almost overnight, together with itching. She was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. Although the news was difficult, she tried to remain optimistic and hopeful. Her…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Loriana’s Survivor Story
Loriana Hernandez-Aldama was an Emmy Award-winning broadcast anchor and trying to have a second baby when symptoms she had dismissed led to an acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis. She says she was misdiagnosed twice before connections helped her get to Johns…
Read this storyStage IV MET Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Amy’s Patient Story
Amy’s second video explains how biomarker testing changed the direction of her Stage IV squamous cell lung cancer care. Her first treatment was Keytruda, also called pembrolizumab, given as a monthly infusion. After each infusion, she received Xgeva to…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Anabel’s Patient Story
Anabel’s breast cancer story was shaped by family loss. Her sister and mother had both died from cancer, and Anabel had cared for them before facing her own diagnosis. About 1.5 years after losing her mother, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer…
Read this storyColorectal Cancer: Dan’s Survivor Story
Dan Gut was 39 when symptoms he had ignored for about 18 months led to a major colorectal cancer prevention surgery. He had changes in bowel habits and blood in his stool, often after eating ice cream, and thought he might be lactose intolerant. When the…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Cindi’s Survivor Story
Cindi Terwoord was 62 when she acted quickly on new blood in her stool and was diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer in September 2019. A local oncologist recommended starting chemotherapy immediately, but Cindi waited a few days for her Cleveland Clinic…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Claire’s Patient Story
Claire Jacob first had breast cancer at 36, while running a communications agency focused on the art market and raising a 9-year-old daughter. She said she did not stop working during that first cancer. The more difficult moment came in 2016, when the cancer…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Martha’s Patient Story
Martha noticed a highly visible mass in her right breast and was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. She sought a second opinion from a more experienced doctor and also researched her options before deciding on treatment. Following medical recommendations…
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 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 storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Marlene’s Patient Story
Marlene was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer before she turned 60. Her first symptoms were chest pain and a persistent dry cough. After diagnosis, she reduced her smoking and began eating healthier meals each day. The news brought emptiness, grief…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Martha’s Survivor Story
Martha’s breast cancer was found during a regular examination after she experienced pain extending from her breast to her back, swelling, and a change in breast size. Her family history included a sister with breast cancer and a mother with liver cancer…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Constance’s Survivor Story
Constance Porter was treated for breast cancer and became cancer-free, but some effects of treatment lasted far longer than she expected. She lost her hair during chemotherapy and was often told not to worry because it would grow back. Instead, she developed…
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 IV Breast Cancer: Natalia’s Patient Story
Natalia Padron’s breast cancer was found after she noticed that something looked different in her breasts and sought routine breast imaging. The report was highly suspicious, and she was referred to a surgeon. She had a family history of breast cancer through…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Buckland was 43 when she received chemotherapy for Stage I breast cancer at Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute. Once a week for 12 weeks, she put on a tight helmet-like cooling cap before treatment began. She wore it for as long as 8 hours…
Read this story