Targeted Therapy: 297 Real Stories
297 stories match targeted therapy. 183 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Leslie’s Patient Story
Leslie was active and teaching fitness classes when a persistent cough and worsening shortness of breath began to interfere with daily life. After repeated visits and treatments that did not help, swollen lymph nodes and increasing breathing difficulty led…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Nathalie’s Patient Story
Nathalie, a homemaker and mother of two from Colombia, had been living with stage 4 breast cancer for more than three years. A strong family history prompted her to seek evaluation after noticing changes in breast shape and areas of thickening. Several…
Read this storyStage II Breast Cancer: Erika’s Patient Story
Erika developed painful, sore breasts with small bumps and was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. The diagnosis was frightening and left her nervous, worried, and overwhelmed. Her initial recommendation included mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Frank’s Survivor Story
Frank Sierawski was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in his 30s, when his three children were six, four, and two. The diagnosis affected the entire family. His children were young enough to remember little of the treatment, while his wife Kathryn carried…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Michelle’s Patient Story
Michelle had been living with ALK-positive lung cancer since 2018 when she developed persistent headaches, vomiting, ear popping, and a whooshing sound in her head. Remembering another patient who had developed leptomeningeal disease, she pressed for an…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Marnie’s Patient Story
Marnie Clark first noticed that one leg felt unusual. The problem became impossible to dismiss when the leg became paralyzed. Early tests focused on the leg and found nothing, so Marnie and her husband paid for additional examinations rather than continue…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Carla’s Patient Story
Carla lived with lung cancer that repeatedly developed resistance to treatment. For long periods, her symptoms were limited mainly to coughing and manageable fatigue. In January 2015, while taking third-line afatinib, she married Bud and moved to Manila to…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Jeff’s Patient Story
Jeff was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 34 after months of worsening back pain that sometimes became debilitating. Targeted therapy eased the physical burden of the disease and helped restore his mobility. Two and a half years later, he and his partner…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Katherine’s Patient Story
Katherine “Kat” Adelufosi initially dismissed a lingering illness, but symptoms persisted for weeks and led to tests and scans. On October 24, she learned that she had Stage IV lung cancer. The diagnosis was especially unexpected because she had never smoked…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Lisa’s Patient Story
Lisa Bistline’s lung-cancer journey began with scans and biopsies, followed by the shock of hearing the diagnosis and asking her husband for confirmation that she had understood correctly. She then moved through multiple treatments as her care evolved. A…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Randi’s Patient Story
Randi Young began smoking at 17 or 18 and stopped at age 31. On April 15, 1984, she decided to quit; the next day she went for a run and never smoked another cigarette. Within 1.5 months she completed her first 10K, ran her first marathon later that year, and…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Laura’s Patient Story
Laura was 38 when a persistent cough, fatigue, congestion, and occasional coughing of blood led to imaging during a routine Veterans Administration visit in April 2023. A chest X-ray appeared to show a 6 mm nodule in her right lung, but a CT scan showed that…
Read this storyEGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient Story
In February 2021, an emergency evaluation for a possible abdominal problem unexpectedly found a mass in the upper lobe of the right lung. Further testing led to a diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer adenocarcinoma. Tumor testing identified an EGFR exon 19…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer Patient Story
At age 30, while completing an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency, the patient developed worsening back pain, muscle spasms, difficulty walking, and numbness in the legs. An emergency MRI showed lesions throughout the spine and a compression fracture at…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Kattysmith’s Patient Story
Kattysmith was first diagnosed with borderline Stage I/II breast cancer in 2003, shortly before turning 51. She underwent lumpectomy with sentinel-node biopsy, which showed no spread, followed by radiation and tamoxifen. After years of follow-up, breast…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Suzi’s Patient Story
Suzi found a painful lump in the lower part of her left breast during a self-check at the end of April 2024. She had long believed that painful lumps were unlikely to be cancer, but a mammogram, breast scan, and guided biopsy confirmed carcinoma. The…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Valerie’s Patient Story
Valerie Brown had symptoms for several months before a CT scan found an abnormality in her lung. A needle biopsy confirmed lung cancer, and she underwent a lobectomy in March 2012. Recovery was painful, but she reached five years with no evidence of disease…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patient Story
This patient had regular breast screening every year, alternating mammography and ultrasound. One screening found a 1.5 cm breast tumor. She had not thought of herself as high risk: she exercised, felt healthy, and did not match the common risk factors she…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Leftfootforward’s Survivor Story
Leftfootforward was 37 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer in December 2010. Her treatment began with A/C chemotherapy and then Herceptin. She had a bilateral mastectomy, followed by 36 rounds of radiation. Herceptin continued for about 8…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Gemina’s Survivor Story
Gemina, a health journalist, remembered the key months of her breast cancer story clearly: when she first noticed that something was wrong, when the diagnosis was confirmed, and when surgery took place. Because of her professional background, she understood…
Read this storyStage II BRCA1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Stephanie’s Patient Story
Stephanie Hargis was 25 when she found a painful lump in her right breast in March 2022. With no family history and her young age, she and her clinicians first thought it might be an inflamed lymph node. Ultrasound and biopsy instead showed Stage II…
Read this storyHER2-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: June’s Patient Story
June Lee first had breast cancer in April 2005, when she was 43. A mammogram found early signs of cancer in her left breast, even though the lump she had felt was on the right. She was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, had a lumpectomy, and received…
Read this storyStage II HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Frédérique’s Survivor Story
Frédérique was 40 when she was listed with Stage II HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2-positive disease can feel especially alarming because it is biologically distinct and requires treatment that targets that pathway. Her record centers on Herceptin, also…
Read this storyBreast Cancer: Sarah’s Patient Story
Sarah was 53 when she was diagnosed in April 2019 with hormone-dependent, grade 1 infiltrating breast carcinoma. Several nodules measured 3 to 8 mm. After MRI, 3 oncologists recommended breast removal, followed by radiation and possibly chemotherapy. Sarah…
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