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More Than a Diagnosis: Finding Community Became Jes’ Lifeline Through Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Jes S., Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Symptoms: Fatigue, headaches, itch on chest, lump Treatments: Chemotherapy (AC/doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide), immunotherapy, surgery (bilateral mastectomy), biologics
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Roxanne’s Life as a Single Parent with Stage 3 EGFR+ Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Roxanne C., Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), Stage 3 Symptoms: None; incidental finding Treatments: Surgery (lobectomy), chemotherapy (cisplatin), radiation therapy, targeted therapy (tyrosine kinase inhibitor/TKI)
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Jake’s Testicular Cancer Story, IVF, and the Family He Was Told He’d Never Have
Jake L., Testicular Cancer, Stage 3 Symptoms: Difficulty sleeping, back pain, leg pain, a lump on the testicle Treatments: Chemotherapy, surgeries (orchiectomy & non-nerve-sparking post-chemotherapy lymph node dissection)
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Unconditional Love: Tom’s Caregiver Story of Loss and Resilience
Tom M., Child of Uterine Cancer Patient and Sibling of Bile Duct Cancer Patient “When you have someone that close to you who’s suffering and dying, you get a pretty good glimpse of what unconditional love is.”
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From Fitness-Focused to Stage 4 Melanoma: Jenn’s Cancer Story
Jenn F., Melanoma, Stage 4 Symptoms: Initially asymptomatic, then a lump in the groin enlarged and changed color Treatments: Surgery (lymphadenectomy), radiation therapy (Gamma Knife radiosurgery), immunotherapy (Opdivo/nivolumab and Yervoy/ipilimumab)
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Personalized Medicine: Biomarker Testing Guided Maggie in Her Stage 4 Lung Cancer
Maggie M., Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, EGFR+, MET Amplification & Overexpression, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Ocular migraines (kaleidoscope vision), partial blood clot (DVT) in the leg, vision and balance problems, minor chest pain Treatments: Targeted therapy (tyrosine kinase inhibitors or TKIs), radiation therapy (stereotactic body radiotherapy or SBRT), clinical trials, chemotherapy (combined platinum-based regimen)
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From Chemo Exhaustion to Targeted Therapy: Clara’s Stage 4 ALK+ Lung Cancer Experience
Clara C., Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, ALK+, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Pelvic pain and discomfort, bladder issues related to pelvic tumors, incontinence, pain in the lower back and hip Treatments: Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy (lorlatinib)
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Platinum Resistance: Alicia’s Ovarian Cancer Story Framed by a Medical Expert
Alicia N., Ovarian Cancer, Stage 3C; Uterine Cancer, Stage 1 Symptoms: No menstrual cycle for one year followed by almost two years of daily bleeding, large blood clots, high blood pressure, random cough, bloating, lower back pain Treatments: Surgery (total hysterectomy), chemotherapy, radiation therapy (planned)
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Trust Your Body, Trust Your Care Team: How Aleeshia Faced Rare Burkitt Lymphoma at 33
Aleeshia T., Burkitt Lymphoma, Stage 4B Symptoms: Severe fatigue, deep shoulder pain, ear pain with inflammation, abdominal and pelvic pain, bloating, early fullness, nausea, difficulty eating, inability to urinate despite feeling an urgent need, internal bleeding, delayed period/bleeding, intense whole‑body pain leading to collapse Treatments: Surgeries (emergency laparoscopic surgery with left ovary removal), chemotherapy (R‑CODOX‑M/IVAC),…
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Diagnosed with Stage 3C Ovarian Cancer at 21: Julia’s Experience
Julia T., Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer, Stage 3C Symptoms: Unexplained weight loss and then rapid weight gain, chronic acid reflux and heartburn, persistent bloating and abdominal distension, early satiety, frequent urination with hip pain, extreme abdominal pain and tenderness Treatments: Surgeries (abdominal surgery to remove large ovarian cysts, full hysterectomy, debulking surgery), chemotherapy, hormone therapy…
