Surveillance: 191 Real Stories
191 stories match surveillance. 147 of them mention surgery.
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Rachel’s Survivor Story
Rachel Chua Bradley was 50 when she was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer and treated near home in northern Virginia. A few years later, the cancer came back. Rachel, an ICU nurse, wanted more information and a plan she trusted, so she went to MD…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Lee’s Survivor Story
Lee Jones was 55 when a CT scan for what seemed like a prostate infection unexpectedly found 5 spots on his liver. A colonoscopy soon identified the primary tumor in his colon, making the diagnosis Stage IV colon cancer because it had already spread to the…
Read this storyPeutz-Jeghers syndrome / hereditary GI polyposis risk; no confirmed colorectal cancer diagnosis: Kara’s Patient Story
Kara Fahey was about 8 when an emergency evaluation during a family trip led to a Peutz-Jeghers syndrome diagnosis. The condition is hereditary and causes benign polyps throughout the gastrointestinal tract, along with dark spots on areas such as the lips and…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer: Deborah’s Patient Story
Deborah Schroeder had smoked for more than 35 years before quitting in 2009, but she still never expected lung cancer. Since then, she has been diagnosed with Stage I lung cancer 3 separate times. The first diagnosis came in summer 2013 after unusual chest…
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 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 III Colorectal Cancer: Brooks’s Survivor Story
Brooks Bell was in follow-up after Stage III colorectal cancer and chemotherapy. Her July 2020 story follows a surveillance colonoscopy, a key part of monitoring after colorectal cancer treatment. She describes arriving at the endoscopy center, going through…
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 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 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 storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Anatole’s Survivor Story
Anatole Karpovs was a 37-year-old pediatrician when persistent bloody stools, bowel changes and abdominal pain led him to seek care in April 2013. Blood tests were normal, but scans showed a large tumor in the lower left colon. Colonoscopy and biopsy…
Read this storyStage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Julie’s Patient Story
Julie Martin had recently received a normal mammogram when her sister called to say she had stage 2 breast cancer. Because Julie also had dense breast tissue, the new family history prompted her to return to her doctor and request additional testing. Imaging…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Adenocarcinoma: Darrell’s Survivor Story
Darrell Sawyer’s colorectal cancer journey began in November 2012, when what seemed like a short stomach flu did not go away. After a month of ongoing stomach upset, a colonoscopy found a tumor in his intestines so large that the procedure could not be…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Natalia’s Survivor Story
Natalia, from Colombia, had a hard, growing lump in her left breast. An early ultrasound found nothing, and three months passed before a mastologist removed the lump and confirmed cancer. Dissatisfied with the information and manner of her first doctor, she…
Read this storyBRCA1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Nadine’s Survivor Story
Nadine Beech was 27, healthy and a non-smoker when she was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer in 1997. After she started spitting up blood following a water-skiing accident, the problem was first treated as a bruised lung. Several doctors later, an 8…
Read this storyLung cancer follow-up: returning to golf while living with an ongoing tumor
By September 2015, this lung cancer patient was trying to rebuild ordinary life around ongoing disease. He wrote that the tumor was still in place, but he looked well, had no obvious outward symptoms, and was more than 1.5 years from diagnosis. Treatment side…
Read this storyLung cancer on Tarceva with stable symptoms during summer follow-up
In July 2015, this patient described a quieter summer with lung cancer. After the stress of the last CT results, time away from doctors and testing brought a sense of calm. He was spending much of the summer in Asturias and only interrupted the trip to…
Read this storyLung cancer follow-up with hopeful CT results and a treatment respite
In March 2015, this lung cancer patient received encouraging CT news. After living through the stress that comes before every scan, the latest results brought relief and what he described as a period of respite. The retained text around this record is mostly…
Read this storyLung cancer first-anniversary survival milestone with slower-than-expected tumor growth
In January 2015, this lung cancer patient marked 1 year since the disease was first detected. The previous year, a chest X-ray had shown a visible tumor, and a pulmonologist ordered the tests that confirmed lung cancer. The year that followed was hard, but…
Read this storyEGFR-mutated lung cancer diary: PET-scan anxiety during treatment break
This lung cancer diary entry centers on the anxiety before a PET scan scheduled for December 9, 2014, at Hospital Puerta de Hierro in Majadahonda. The patient had gone 6 months without active treatment while waiting to see how the lung tumor evolved. During…
Read this storyLung cancer diary: treatment-free interval while waiting for PET
This lung cancer diary entry describes a quiet stretch without symptoms, active treatment, or oncology visits. The patient framed it with the phrase “no news is good news,” because another week had passed without noticeable problems. He was waiting for a PET…
Read this storyLung cancer diary: chemotherapy completed and supportive symptom strategies
This lung cancer diary entry was written after the patient had finished chemotherapy and was waiting for the next PET scan, scheduled for December 9, 2014. A conversation during chemotherapy with another long-term lung cancer survivor made him think about the…
Read this storyPrecancerous polyps / familial colorectal cancer risk prevention; no confirmed colorectal cancer diagnosis: Terri’s Patient Story
Terri Hofmeister was 26, healthy, pregnant with her second child and symptom-free when her family history raised concern. Her father, uncle, aunt, grandmother and great-grandmother had colorectal cancer, and 2 relatives had died from it. After her father was…
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