Surgery: 1,095 Real Stories
1,095 stories match surgery. 777 of them mention chemotherapy.
Colorectal Cancer: Donna’s Survivor Story
Donna Marie Caruso, 70, began treatment for rectal cancer in November 2020, soon after retiring from a 30-year teaching career. Because colorectal cancer ran in her family, she had been careful about screening and credited colonoscopy with catching the cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer Patient Story
The patient was breastfeeding her daughter in 2016 when she noticed a lump in her right breast. She was reassured at first that she was too young for breast cancer and that it might be related to breastfeeding. After diagnosis, further testing changed the…
Read this storyEGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Michelle’s Patient Story
Michelle Vacca’s lung cancer was found by accident in March 2017, when she went to the emergency room for an unrelated problem and chest scans showed a spot on her lung. She had never smoked and had no symptoms. Because the non-small cell lung cancer was…
Read this storyStage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Stacy’s Survivor Story
Stacy had received regular mammograms since age 40 and was repeatedly told the results were clear. Dense breast tissue was noted, and automated whole-breast ultrasound was recommended only once. During a 2023 examination, her gynecologist felt that one breast…
Read this storyHER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Janella’s Survivor Story
Janella Bustamante was diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer in June 2021. Her cancer was described as fueled by estrogen, progesterone and the HER2 protein. She returned to Lima, Peru, for the first part of treatment and spent the following months…
Read this storyStage IV Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Nicole’s Patient Story
Nicole was 42 and working as a fine jewelry designer when a sharp seatbelt-like pain across her chest led her to feel a new breast change. Because she had dense, fibrous breast tissue and a history of cysts, a cyst seemed possible, but her gynecologist was…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Josephine’s Survivor Story
Josephine faced 2 cancer diagnoses before age 40. In 2015, at age 28, she was diagnosed with melanoma. Two years later, breast cancer disrupted the life she and her partner were building around marriage, family plans, and ordinary young-adult freedom. Breast…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Breast Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Njathi’s breast cancer was found after her delayed 40th-birthday mammogram led to extra imaging in early 2023. At first, she thought the callback was routine for a first mammogram. When the repeat screening focused on one breast and the lymph nodes…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Tammy’s Survivor Story
Tammy McDevitt had years of normal mammograms, even though repeated letters warned that dense breast tissue could make cancer harder to detect. In September 2024, her annual screening mammogram at Cleveland Clinic found a subtle abnormality. Follow-up…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Rancik was 31 when chest pain she thought was a pulled muscle led to a Stage II triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis. Her doctor initially dismissed her request for mammography, but she insisted. Three days after biopsy, she was told to gather her…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Basma’s Patient Story
Basma, a 44-year-old mother of 2, learned she had breast cancer after a mammogram showed concerning changes and a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. Her name was changed for privacy. She had no family history of breast cancer, and the news affected not only her…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Nikoo’s Patient Story
Nikoo was 42 in 2003 when a normal mammogram missed the cancer her doctor felt during a breast exam. A biopsy confirmed invasive lobular breast cancer, a type that can be difficult to see on standard imaging. The tumor was small, about 0.9 cm, and she was…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Starr’s Survivor Story
Starr was 45 when abdominal pain pushed her to seek care. A scan showed multiple masses in her liver, and a hospital biopsy confirmed cancer there that had started elsewhere. She was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic colon cancer, with later discussions also…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Kalei’s Patient Story
Kalei was 28 and raising 2 young daughters when bowel changes, strange tissue in her stool, blood, clots, and cramping made her push for answers. A full colonoscopy found a mass growing through the rectal wall, and pathology confirmed rectal cancer. Her care…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Theresa’s Survivor Story
Theresa first faced cancer in 2008, when a painful spot on her lip was biopsied and diagnosed as lip cancer. It was treated with Mohs surgery. Five years later, in 2013, she noticed her left breast looked larger and felt painful. Instead of a typical lump…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Karin’s Patient Story
Karin was first diagnosed with breast cancer on December 4, 2014, after mentioning a swollen breast gland during a visit for a persistent cough. Everything moved quickly. She initially hoped the tumor could simply be removed, but treatment also included…
Read this storyStage IV BRAF Colorectal Cancer: Jackson’s Patient Story
Jackson was 27 when worsening fatigue, thinning stool, blood in his stool, severe stomach pain, and projectile vomiting led him to the ER. He was diagnosed on January 11, 2025 with Stage IV colon cancer, a complete bowel blockage, and more than 40 tumors in…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Laura’s Patient Story
In November 2024, Laura VanBrocklin was making dinner for her 2 children when sudden nausea, urgency, and a feeling that she might pass out sent her to the emergency room. A CT scan within 30 minutes showed a bowel blockage caused by a tumor and lesions in…
Read this storyStage III Ovarian Cancer: Mary’s Survivor Story
Mary Catherine Riley was 46 in 2019 when persistent bloating and urinary frequency led to testing that found ovarian cancer. Her specialist diagnosed stage III disease involving lymph nodes, and surgery confirmed low-grade serous ovarian cancer. She then…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Angela’s Patient Story
Angela George was 42 when family history led her to take a closer look at her cancer risk. Her father had recently been diagnosed with colon cancer, and several relatives had also had cancer, including her mother and grandmother with breast cancer. In July…
Read this storyInvasive Ductal Carcinoma: Meghan’s Patient Story
Meghan McLyman learned she had ductal carcinoma in situ after her first annual mammogram, shortly after turning 41. A lifelong professional dancer and mother, she was surprised by the diagnosis because health and wellbeing had always been central to her life…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Maria’s Patient Story
Maria first went through chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and targeted/endocrine therapy for breast cancer. Surgery showed more lymph-node involvement than expected on PET imaging, and up to 20 lymph nodes were removed. Pathology later showed more cancer in…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Kara’s Survivor Story
Kara Lionetta was caring for 2 young children when her youngest was only 5 months old and she learned that symptoms she had associated with pregnancy and postpartum recovery were actually Stage III rectal cancer. She had experienced extreme exhaustion…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Claire’s Patient Story
Claire Firrell was 46 when abdominal pain led to a Stage III colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2015. The cancer had spread to lymph nodes. Her first treatment included surgery to remove the tumor, part of her colon, and lymph nodes, followed by 12…
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