Surveillance: 191 Real Stories
191 stories match surveillance. 147 of them mention surgery.
Stage III Colorectal Cancer: Jackson’s Survivor Story
Jackson was 2 days away from turning 26 and 3 weeks away from the bar exam when abdominal pain, vomiting, and dehydration sent him to the emergency room on July 3, 2024. A CT scan showed narrowing in the colon and concern for a tumor. He had an emergency…
Read this storyHR-Positive Breast Cancer: Sara’s Patient Story
Sara Glenn was 38 when she felt a peanut-sized breast lump during a self-exam in summer 2024, while her family was moving from North Carolina to Southern California. Mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy showed a 2 cm grade 1A-1B ER-positive, HER2-negative breast…
Read this storyStage III Lung Cancer: Alexis’s Survivor Story
Alexis was 29 and living in San Francisco when a possible heart issue led to the discovery of lung cancer. She had noticed shortness of breath and chest discomfort but thought anxiety might explain it. Because her father had been misdiagnosed with a genetic…
Read this storyStage I Breast Cancer: Krista’s Patient Story
Krista’s breast cancer journey began with her mother’s history. Her mother had breast cancer twice and later learned she carried a pathogenic ATM mutation. After her mother died, Krista chose genetic testing and found that she carried the same mutation…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Monica’s Survivor Story
Monica Dean was 46, a San Diego news anchor, and a mother of 3 when a routine first colonoscopy changed her life. She felt healthy, had no symptoms, and did not have an immediate family history of colorectal cancer. A conversation with someone who regretted…
Read this storyStage 0 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Kathleen’s Survivor Story
Kathleen first lived with years of imaging follow-up for a small shadow in her left breast, then developed bloody nipple discharge. Biopsies and imaging did not clearly show invasive cancer, but DCIS became concerning enough that mastectomy was recommended…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Chloe’s Survivor Story
Chloe’s Stage III colon cancer was found in early 2024 after symptoms that kept getting worse. She had bloating and stomach problems, then weight loss, fatigue, lack of appetite, and abdominal swelling. Because she already had anemia, some symptoms were first…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Mark’s Survivor Story
Mark was 35 when cramping episodes in 2020 led him toward a Stage IIIB colon cancer diagnosis. At first, doctors thought the pain might be appendicitis, but Mark felt that explanation did not fit what was happening in his body. He kept pushing for more…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Edie’s Survivor Story
Edie was 52 when a positive Cologuard test led to a Stage IIIB colorectal cancer diagnosis. For years, she had dealt with constipation, but she had linked it to medication, scoliosis, and everyday explanations. When she turned 50, her doctor recommended…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Katie’s Survivor Story
Katie’s Stage IIIB colon cancer was found after symptoms that did not look like classic bowel cancer at first. She had extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, and heartburn, but no blood in her stool or obvious gastrointestinal changes. Because she was active…
Read this storyStage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chance’s Survivor Story
Chance was 24 and already knew she carried a BRCA1 mutation when she saw a lump protruding from her chest during a beach trip. A January 2021 MRI had looked normal, so the sudden change felt alarming. Her care team moved quickly: ultrasound, mammogram, MRI…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Denelle’s Survivor Story
Denelle was diagnosed with Stage IIIB rectal cancer in April 2024 after months of bowel changes. In fall 2023, she noticed irregular bowel movements, frequent bleeding, and a feeling that she could not fully evacuate. She initially thought the symptoms might…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jose’s Survivor Story
Jose Santos lived with severe ulcerative colitis for 16 years before his Stage III colorectal cancer diagnosis in 2022. The autoimmune disease had caused abdominal pain, bleeding, urgency, weakness, and a major loss of quality of life since his 20s. When…
Read this storyStage I Colorectal Cancer: Jay’s Survivor Story
Jay Trevino was 48 when a routine screening test unexpectedly led to a colon cancer diagnosis on June 14, 2024. After a change in health insurance, he had to find a new primary care physician. The new doctor recommended a Cologuard test for colon cancer…
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 storyLung Cancer: Pascal’s Survivor Story
Pascal, 62, learned he had lung cancer after going to his general practitioner for a lump in his neck. He was sent to the emergency department, where a chest X-ray did not show anything clear, but CT scan, PET scan, and biopsy confirmed lung cancer…
Read this storyStage IV BRAF Colorectal Cancer: Sophie’s Survivor Story
Sophie was diagnosed with Stage IV bowel cancer in 2018 after nearly a year of unexplained symptoms. Vomiting, anemia, pain, diarrhea, and inability to keep food down were first investigated as possible Crohn’s disease. Colonoscopy, MRI, and CT then showed a…
Read this storyStage 0 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Erica’s Survivor Story
Erica was diagnosed with Stage 0 ductal carcinoma in situ in 2018 after about 10 years of close breast monitoring. Her mother had died of breast cancer more than 20 years earlier, and although Erica’s BRCA testing was negative, repeated mammograms…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Lisa’s Patient Story
Lisa Ordmandy was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and was told after treatment elsewhere that it would not recur. A few years later, a fall from a stationary bicycle caused a C2 vertebral fracture, and doctors believed the fracture was caused by…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Andrea’s Survivor Story
Andrea was 32 when Stage III colorectal cancer was diagnosed, after symptoms that began while she was about 7 months pregnant. She first noticed bloody stool, lower back pain, and pressure in June 2021. During childbirth she had severe rectal pain, and…
Read this storyTriple-Negative Breast Cancer: Samantha’s Survivor Story
Samantha Salway was 34 and 14 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in January 2023. She already had 2 young children and had recently completed a 10K and a half marathon. The first questions she and her husband asked were…
Read this storyStage II Lung Cancer: Ed’s Survivor Story
Ed Ackerman was 61 and felt healthy when a day-long Cleveland Clinic executive physical unexpectedly found a spot in the lower right lung. He had recently received reassuring results from other routine examinations and had no symptoms. A repeat CT scan showed…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: Savannah’s Survivor Story
Savannah Kaspar was 26 when abdominal pain, severe constipation, and bloody stools pushed her to seek answers. A colonoscopy in August found a mass in her sigmoid colon. It was first described as noncancerous, but Savannah came to MD Anderson, where imaging…
Read this storyStage II Colorectal Cancer: John’s Survivor Story
John Johnson was 35 and training seriously as a runner when rectal bleeding led to a Stage II rectal cancer diagnosis. At first, he thought the bleeding might be hemorrhoids. When it worsened, he saw his physician, who recommended a colonoscopy. The…
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