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Living With Stage 4 Melanoma: How Megan Found Her Groove Again
Megan C., Melanoma, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Itchy mole on the back that changed color and texture, escalating pain in the hip, lower back, and leg Treatments: Surgeries (wide excision of mole, removal of 10 lymph nodes from right armpit, orthopedic hardware surgery in the femur), immunotherapy, radiation therapy
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Tyler’s Thymic Carcinoma Diagnosis Started With What He Thought Was a Golf Injury
Tyler L., Thymic Carcinoma, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Dull pain in the upper abdomen that progressed to sharp, constant pain, referred pain at the tip of the shoulder (related to the phrenic nerve) Treatment: Chemotherapy
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Diagnosed With Stage 4 Melanoma: A Mole on Megan’s Back and Two Recurrences
Megan G., Melanoma, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Mole on the spine that grew, hurt under pressure, and broke open, appearance of a new spot near tailbone, hip pain, appearance of a lump in groin lymph nodes Treatments: Surgeries (bilateral sentinel lymph node removal, skin graft), double immunotherapy (clinical trial), chemotherapy
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Justin on Life as a Melanoma Care Partner After His Wife’s Cancer Metastasized
Justin C., Spouse of Megan C., Melanoma Patient “I don’t know that I would be able to go through the things that she endures. I know she has to, and she does it, but she does it with a smile.”
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The Financial Cost of Lung Cancer Treatment: Jennifer’s Almost Two Years of Self-Advocacy
Jennifer W., Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), Stage 4 (Metastatic), ALK+ Symptoms: Left-sided rib pain, fatigue with the need for daytime naps, interruptive and persistent cough Treatments: Radiation therapy (targeted radiation), targeted therapy (alectinib, lorlatinib), monoclonal antibody (bevacizumab), biphosphonate (zoledronic acid), chemotherapy (upcoming)
alectinib (Alecensa), ALK, ALK Inhibitor, bevacizumab (Avastin), Biphosphonates, Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy, lorlatinib (Lorbrena), Lung Cancer, Metastatic ALK-Positive, Monoclonal Antibody, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Patient Stories, Radiation Therapy, Targeted radiation therapy, Targeted Therapy, Treatments, Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI), zoledronic acid (Zometa) -
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Stage 4 Melanoma: Supporting Each Other When Cancer Progressed
Megan & Justin C., Melanoma Patient (Megan) and Care Partner (Justin), Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Itchy mole on the back that changed color and texture, escalating pain in the hip, lower back, and leg Treatments: Surgeries (wide excision of mole, removal of 10 lymph nodes from right armpit, orthopedic hardware surgery in the femur), immunotherapy,…
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How Alicia Pushed for Answers When Her Ocular Melanoma Spread to Her Liver
Alicia M., Ocular Melanoma, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Peripheral vision loss, loss of balance resulting in falling, unexplained 15-pound weight loss Treatments: Radiation therapy (gold plaque brachytherapy), chemotherapy (melphalan), upcoming dual immunotherapy
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Amanda’s Rare Genetic Condition, Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, Led to Breast Cancer and Osteosarcoma Back to Back
Amanda R., Breast Cancer (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ or DCIS) and Osteosarcoma, TP53 (Li-Fraumeni Syndrome) Symptoms: breast cancer: breast lump, nipple discharge, nipple sore and chafing; osteosarcoma: jaw pain, swollen cheek Treatments: breast cancer: surgery (double mastectomy), chemotherapy; osteosarcoma: chemotherapy, surgery (maxillectomy: jaw surgery with skin graft and prosthetic plate)
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Marisa’s Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis and BRCA2 Discovery
Marisa S., Colorectal Cancer, Stage 1, BRCA2, ATM (variant of unknown significance) Symptoms: Intense stomach pain, bloating, presence of blood in stool Treatments: Surgeries (polyp removal, precancerous tissue removal, nipple-sparing double mastectomy with tissue expanders, exchange to implants, revision surgery with fat grafting, salpingectomy)
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At 23, Summer’s Osteosarcoma Started as Knee Pain That Wouldn’t Go Away
Summer K., Recurrent Osteosarcoma, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Primary Cancer: Soreness and inflammation of the right knee; Recurrence: Appearance of nodules and tumor in lung, and lump on side Treatments: Primary Cancer: Chemotherapy, surgeries (limb-salvage surgery (proximal tibia replacement with gastrocnemius flap), proximal tibia arthroplasty); Recurrence: surgeries (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) wedge lung resection, subcutaneous…
