Surgery: 1,095 Real Stories
1,095 stories match surgery. 777 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Filipe’s Patient Story
Filipe was 36 when a headache and blurred vision led to a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. A brain MRI showed 7 brain metastases, including a 4 cm lesion at the back of his head. CT imaging and biopsy confirmed lung cancer as the primary. Liver lesions were…
Read this storyStage III Ovarian Cancer: Rachel’s Patient Story
Rachel was 31 when a year of infertility led to the discovery of ovarian cancer. She had experienced bloating, increasingly painful and heavy periods, night sweats, and difficulty conceiving, but routine pelvic exams and bloodwork had previously appeared…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Monica’s Patient Story
Monica was 32, from Australia and living in Croatia, when she was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. She had stomach pain that was initially brushed off as possible IBS or a gynecologic issue. When she ended up in the hospital, imaging showed a tumor…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Nina’s Survivor Story
Nina was 34 when she noticed hardening under her left armpit. About 1 year later, the lump had grown and her breast began to show dimpling. A mammogram and ultrasound found an abnormal lump, and a biopsy confirmed Stage III breast cancer. Soon afterward…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jazz’s Patient Story
Jazz, a Texas resident, began having frequent bowel movements, discomfort, and rectal bleeding during a vacation in Hawaii. He first thought the symptoms were hemorrhoids and delayed getting checked, but his girlfriend noticed his weight loss and pushed him…
Read this storyNon-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Donnita’s Survivor Story
Donnita was 68 when she was diagnosed with Stage IA2 non-small cell lung cancer, adenocarcinoma. Her story appears in a group lung cancer awareness video with other speakers; this summary focuses only on Donnita’s personal experience. Donnita had a…
Read this storyEGFR Lung Cancer: Jill’s Survivor Story
Jill Feldman was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009 at age 39 after years of watching the disease affect her family. She lost 2 grandparents to lung cancer within weeks of each other, then her father died 3 months after his diagnosis at age 41. In her 20s…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jazz’s Patient Story
Jazz Page was diagnosed with Stage III, borderline Stage IV rectal cancer after months of symptoms that he first tried to explain away. During a vacation, he felt the urge to use the bathroom 8 to 10 times a day and never felt fully emptied. He assumed it…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Nina’s Survivor Story
Nina was 34 when she was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Her first sign was a hard strip under her left armpit, not the small pea-like lump she had been told to watch for. At first, she was reassured because she was young, had dense breast…
Read this storyStage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren found a lump in her right breast during a self-exam and quickly contacted her doctor. She was referred to radiology for an ultrasound and biopsy, which led to a diagnosis of invasive ductal breast cancer. Her cancer was Stage II. At first, a sentinel…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Brenda’s Survivor Story
Brenda was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma in September 2023. She had never heard of the subtype before. Her radiologist noticed what looked like a scar on her mammogram and recommended a biopsy. That extra step found the cancer at an early stage…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: Anna’s Survivor Story
Anna found a breast lump on her 37th birthday. Her gynecologist initially did not consider it urgent, but Anna pushed for further testing. Because she had dense breast tissue, ultrasound was important in identifying the tumor, and a biopsy confirmed…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: Anna’s Survivor Story
Anna Rathkopf was 37 when she found a lump in her breast on her birthday. She was living in Brooklyn with her husband and their 2.5-year-old son, and they had just started thinking about a second child. A prior doctor had told her she did not need a mammogram…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jess’s Survivor Story
Jess Thompson was diagnosed with Stage IV bowel cancer at 26 after months of severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, and anemia. The cramping came in sudden episodes that lasted 2 to 3 days, then eased. She also noticed she could no longer climb…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Italia’s Survivor Story
Italia Russell was 30 when she found a breast lump in August 2023, 1 month after learning she carried a BRCA mutation that increased her lifetime breast cancer risk. Her mother had been treated 15 years earlier for Stage II triple-negative breast cancer and…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Francina’s Survivor Story
Francina had no breast cancer symptoms when her routine mammogram the day after Christmas found something suspicious. A few days later, her doctor called her back for another mammogram and an ultrasound because a mass had been seen. The ultrasound confirmed…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Ashley’s Survivor Story
Ashley Vasallo was 36 when she shared her story, 2 years after being diagnosed with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Before diagnosis, she had trouble swallowing, shortness of breath, stabbing chest pain, fatigue, vomiting, full-body swelling, clubbed…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Erica’s Survivor Story
Erica Watson was 51 when pain and a breast lump led to a diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer. She had stayed current with mammograms and had breast cancer in her family, so the diagnosis still came as a shock. A formal stage was not shared, but her…
Read this storyStage IV HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Dee’s Patient Story
Dee was 31 and breastfeeding in 2017 when pain in her left breast was followed by a large lump. Her symptoms were initially minimized because of her age, but she kept pushing for answers and eventually had an ultrasound through a private hospital. She was…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Paul’s Patient Story
Paul was diagnosed with Stage III rectal cancer in early 2024 after more than 1 year of bowel changes. He had frequent bowel movements and loose stools, but during a routine physical in late 2023, the symptoms were first thought to be inflammation or…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Maddee’s Survivor Story
Maddee Moore was diagnosed with Stage II colon cancer in February 2023 after months of fatigue, abdominal pain, burning sensations, shortness of breath on hills, dizziness, and anemia. Because she had a history of gastrointestinal problems after a prior…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Maddee’s Survivor Story
Maddee was diagnosed with Stage II colon cancer in February 2023 after months of symptoms that did not fit her active lifestyle. She first noticed fatigue and intermittent abdominal pain in December 2022. The symptoms then escalated to burning stomach pain…
Read this storyOvarian Cancer: Lissa’s Survivor Story
This patient was first diagnosed with a granulosa cell tumor, a rare ovarian cancer, in early 2005 and received treatment locally. The cancer stayed under control for about 12 years before recurring in 2017. After another recurrence in 2024 and uncertainty…
Read this storyInvasive Ductal Carcinoma: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren O’Connell, a beauty editor and mother of 2 living in Dubai, found her breast cancer during a self-exam in December 2023. She felt a large lump in the 12 o’clock area of her right breast and quickly had imaging and a biopsy. The diagnosis was invasive…
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