Surgery: 1,095 Real Stories
1,095 stories match surgery. 777 of them mention chemotherapy.
Ovarian Cancer: Elle’s Patient Story
Elle Simone was living in New York City when she began having symptoms she initially thought were gastrointestinal problems, something she considered plausible as a chef. She sought gynecologic care, but felt that her pain and concerns were dismissed. An…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Deborah’s Patient Story
Deborah Brown was 69 when a routine mammogram on March 2, 2020, found a suspicious area in her breast just as COVID-19 was beginning to shut down New York City. Follow-up ultrasound, bilateral mammogram and biopsy on March 17 confirmed Stage I breast cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Allison’s Patient Story
Allison Rebello was 36 when a mammogram in 2011 showed invasive ductal cancer in her right breast. Further testing also found cancer in the left breast. She underwent a right mastectomy with reconstruction and a left lumpectomy followed by 6 weeks of…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Pam’s Patient Story
Pam Benchley was 53, a triathlete, cyclist and fitness trainer, when she noticed inflamed skin on her left breast. A recent mammogram had not shown cancer, so she first thought the irritation came from a sports bra. A local doctor biopsied the area and found…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Shelley’s Survivor Story
Shelley Brown was diagnosed with Stage IIIB sigmoid colon cancer in October 2015 after a colonoscopy found cancer in the sigmoid/left colon. She had not expected a cancer diagnosis. The colonoscopy was added while she was already planning an endoscopy for…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Jessica’s Survivor Story
Jessica Duemig was 32 when she woke with stabbing pain in her left breast and felt a small lump. At first, the lump was about the size of a pencil eraser, but within 1 month it had grown to the size of a large gumball. She decided to get it checked, and the…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Ben’s Survivor Story
Ben Simcox had his first colonoscopy at 28 after his sister, Heather, pushed family members to get screened because she had rectal bleeding and colon polyps. That first colonoscopy in 2009 found only non-cancerous polyps. Years later, in 2017, Ben developed…
Read this storyGastric Cancer: Emily’s Patient Story
In 2014, this patient learned at age 25 that they carried a CDH1 mutation associated with a high risk of stomach cancer. The initial plan was careful surveillance while the patient and a spouse considered starting a family. Two endoscopies showed no evidence…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Scott’s Patient Story
Scott Sterling was 51 in 2018 when a sudden sharp pain in his lower right abdomen led him to the emergency room. After several tests, a pelvic scan found Stage IV colorectal cancer that had spread to his liver. He learned that the disease was not considered…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Allison’s Survivor Story
Allison was 32 and already familiar with bowel symptoms because of Crohn’s disease, so subtle changes caught her attention. She noticed weight loss, severe fatigue, more blood in her stool, and a feeling that food was getting stuck. Her gastroenterologist…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Doris’s Patient Story
Doris learned in 2017 that she had breast cancer. The cancer was described as aggressive, and after months passed before she reached the hospital, she was told it had advanced to Stage IV and had metastasized to her lungs. Her doctor gave her an estimated 6…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Caitlin’s Patient Story
Caitlin J. was 29 when she found a lump in her breast and had to push for evaluation while uninsured. Planned Parenthood referred her for imaging, and a mammogram showed a mass. Biopsy results came back within 3 days and confirmed Stage IIB ER-positive…
Read this storyStage II MSI-High Colorectal Cancer: Shannon’s Survivor Story
Shannon was 29 when severe pain after eating began in fall 2014. At first, doctors thought it might be an ulcer. In December, an emergency-room visit led to an ultrasound showing gallbladder problems, so her gallbladder was removed in January 2015. The pain…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Kristine’s Patient Story
Kristine Bishop first noticed a slightly painful breast lump in 2008. It was a fibroadenoma, a noncancerous tumor, and it was removed. A year later, her mother pushed her to keep a follow-up mammogram appointment. That mammogram showed a tiny starburst-like…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Barbara’s Survivor Story
Barbara Majeski was 42 when colon cancer was finally diagnosed after a long period of symptoms and dismissal. She had trouble processing food, felt that things were sitting in her gut, and did not feel like herself despite being active and health-conscious…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine Hodgdon was 34, active, and training for a triathlon when she was diagnosed with aggressive metastatic breast cancer. The cancer was HER2-positive. She had no family history of breast cancer and described the diagnosis as a complete shock. Her…
Read this storyOvarian Cancer: Kimberly’s Survivor Story
Kimberly Richardson was training for a marathon in 2013 when unusual fatigue and a small amount of bleeding after menopause prompted her to see a gynecologist. Ultrasound imaging suggested an ovarian cyst, and surgery was planned to remove it. Kimberly even…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Howard’s Patient Story
Howard Brown was 50 when a routine colonoscopy led to a diagnosis of colon cancer. At 24, he had survived non-Hodgkin lymphoma and then lived 26 years without evidence of that disease before the colon cancer was found. For colon cancer, surgeons removed 13…
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 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 IV Breast Cancer: Kirby’s Patient Story
Kirby Lewis first felt a breast lump after months of coughing and was initially told that men do not get breast cancer. After transferring his care to a VA hospital, an open biopsy confirmed ER-positive, PR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. He was…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA2 Breast Cancer: Lisa’s Patient Story
Lisa Quinn was 36 when she found a hard knot in her right breast after experiencing stabbing pain. Mammography, ultrasound, and biopsy confirmed breast cancer involving lymph nodes. MRI and PET imaging showed 7 tumors in the right breast and cancer in 5 bone…
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 storyOvarian Cancer: Jamie’s Patient Story
Jamie was 26 when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The diagnosis brought shock, fear, and a sense of isolation because her friends were not facing the same medical and life decisions. Within a year, she underwent two surgeries and often felt physically…
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