Targeted Therapy: 297 Real Stories
297 stories match targeted therapy. 183 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage III HR-Positive Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Liz’s Patient Story
Dr. Liz O'Riordan, a breast surgeon, was diagnosed at 40 in 2015 with Stage III mixed ductal and lobular breast cancer. Her cancer was not seen on mammogram; it was found on ultrasound and MRI. She received chemotherapy first, and her final MRI appeared…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jessica’s Survivor Story
Jessica Dazzler was diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer in January 2021, soon after her 37th birthday. For about 1 year before diagnosis, she had pelvic and tailbone pain, changing bowel habits, blood in the stool, low iron, and fertility-related…
Read this storyHER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Irasema’s Survivor Story
In September 2020, several years after treatment for stomach cancer, Irasema Partida Chavez learned that she also had breast cancer. Routine imaging showed an abnormality in her right breast. A mammogram and biopsy confirmed cancer, and she was told that…
Read this storyStage II EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Daniel’s Survivor Story
Daniel West’s lung nodules were found unexpectedly in 2022 when he used a workplace opportunity to have cardiac testing after his father’s death from a heart attack. CT and PET imaging showed a concerning nodule in the middle lobe of his right lung, and…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Adenocarcinoma: Niko’s Patient Story
Niko was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma about 2 years before the May 2024 interview. The first sign was frequent coughing during the COVID period. A doctor listened to her chest, suspected pleural effusion, ordered a chest X-ray, and sent her to the…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Jeff’s Patient Story
Jeff had previously undergone extensive surgery and radiosurgery for a rare cancer involving his cervical spine in 2017. During follow-up in March 2021, a slight cough prompted a chest X-ray that showed a large mass in the lower right lung. Further testing…
Read this storyElsa Lankford
Elsa Lankford became a caregiver when her wife was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer at age 49. The recommended screening age had been lowered from 50 to 45 only 2 months earlier. They already feared cancer, and the diagnosis was confirmed while Elsa’s…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Allison’s Patient Story
Allison Tierney, an oncology dietitian in Wisconsin, found a breast lump shortly after finishing breastfeeding her 2nd child. Because she was only 10 days postpartum from nursing, the lump could have been a clogged duct, but it continued to worry her. Imaging…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Anne’s Patient Story
Anne Laporte, a nurse for about 35 years and an endurance athlete, had a lung nodule followed years earlier and then dismissed because she was a lifelong nonsmoker. Years later, progressive back pain was treated as a sports injury through multiple doctor and…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Ashley’s Patient Story
Ashley had no symptoms when lung cancer was found by chance. She went to the hospital for a gynecologic issue, and CT imaging showed lung nodules. Pathology was sent to Mayo Clinic, and about 1 week later she learned it was non-small cell lung cancer. Both…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Adenocarcinoma: Keegan’s Survivor Story
Keegan Murphy, a retired firefighter and combat veteran, was 41 when a lingering dry cough after a cold led to a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis in September 2022. Testing showed adenocarcinoma with an ALK fusion mutation. By then, cancer was present in his…
Read this storyStage IV Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Leslie’s Patient Story
Leslie was 56 when her breast cancer diagnosis unfolded over 2.5 months in 2017. A March 3D mammogram led to a call-back for the left breast, but the follow-up report was normal and noted dense breasts that could obscure small masses. Leslie still sensed that…
Read this storyStage IV BRCA Breast Cancer: Dena’s Patient Story
Dena Ofengeim was 28 in December 2021 when worsening back pain and leg weakness sent her to the emergency room. Imaging found a mass pressing on the nerves of her spine. Surgery removed the mass, and a biopsy showed that it was breast cancer that had spread…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Ivy’s Survivor Story
Ivy E. was 47 when neck pain and trouble straightening her elbow led to an unexpected Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. Doctors first thought the symptoms might be an overuse injury. Imaging of the elbow showed a mass involving the joint and bone. After…
Read this storyStage III Colorectal Cancer: Jena’s Patient Story
Jena Sica was 25 when rectal bleeding and fatigue led to a colonoscopy and a diagnosis of Stage IIIC colon cancer in 2020. Her care included biomarker testing, chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy, and surgery. Jena used her experience to emphasize…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Jason’s Patient Story
Jason Reese was 49 when he described living with Stage IV colorectal cancer that started in the rectum and spread extensively to his liver. For a long time, he explained away gastrointestinal distress as diet-related. Blood on the toilet paper slowly worsened…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Matt’s Survivor Story
Matt Hiznay was 24 and in his second year of medical school when a persistent dry cough led to a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis in August 2011. He was a lifelong nonsmoker, making the diagnosis especially hard to process. Testing showed the cancer was driven…
Read this storyStage IV Breast Cancer: Sherri’s Patient Story
Sherri was first diagnosed in November 2022 with aggressive Stage IV metastatic breast cancer after her blood counts dropped and doctors found a breast mass. The cancer had spread to her bone marrow, so she needed multiple transfusions before starting…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Multiple primaries: metastatic Breast Cancer + Colon/Colorectal Cancer: Sherri’s Patient Story
Sherri was a retired Air Force member, therapist, and mother of 3 when shortness of breath after a Costa Rica trip became impossible to ignore. At the emergency room, her oxygen level was dangerously low and her blood counts were falling, leading to…
Read this storyStage IV Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Corky’s Patient Story
Corky Thacker was 64 when breast discoloration that first seemed like a heat rash eventually led to a Stage IV inflammatory breast cancer diagnosis. She was careful about annual mammograms, but inflammatory breast cancer can be hard to detect because it often…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Christine’s Patient Story
Christine was 57, active, and previously healthy when shortness of breath, clavicle pain, and shoulder pain led to imaging. X-ray, CT, MRI, and PET scans showed pleural and cardiac effusions and Stage IV adenocarcinoma non-small cell lung cancer. She had…
Read this storyInvasive Lobular Carcinoma: Brenda’s Survivor Story
Brenda first found a breast lump in 2017, when she was in her early 40s. She was told it was a cyst, while an area of calcification seen on mammography was monitored every 6 months for the next 5 years. During a mammogram in May 2022, the area believed to be…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Olivia’s Survivor Story
Olivia Franz was 27 and breastfeeding her 4-month-old son when she noticed a painless lump in her left breast in mid-October 2020. An initial ultrasound suggested mastitis, but the lump and swelling grew during a week of antibiotics. A second ultrasound and…
Read this storyStage IV Colorectal Cancer: Keith’s Patient Story
Keith was 41 when abdominal pain after gallbladder removal led to an emergency room visit in May 2021. A CT scan showed a mass or blockage in his colon. Further evaluation also found affected lymph nodes and 4 lesions in his liver. He had emergency surgery…
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