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Sid Sadler Thought It Was a Kidney Stone, But It Was Kidney Cancer: A 10-Centimeter Tumor
Sid Sadler., Kidney Cancer (Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma or ccRCC), Stage 2 T2b Symptoms: Gross hematuria or visible blood in urine, passage of blood clots, urinary pressure, difficulty urinating Treatments: Surgery (radical nephrectomy, left kidney), upcoming ablation therapy (cryoablation)
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16 Years, 8 Tumors, 5 Recurrences: How Lisa Learned to Live With Cholangiocarcinoma as a Chronic Illness
Lisa Craine, Bile Duct Cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma) Symptoms: Pale stools, pain under the right breast, persistent fatigue, noted paleness Treatments: Surgeries (partial hepatectomy, additional surgeries for recurrences), chemotherapy (across several recurrences), radiation therapy (stereotactic body radiotherapy), monoclonal antibody (durvalumab)
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Jessica’s BRCA2 Genetic Mutation Led Her to Catch Her HR+ Breast Cancer Early
Jessica L., Breast Cancer, HR+, BRCA2+ Symptoms: None; discovered during a screening mammogram Treatments: Surgeries (full mastectomy, breast reconstruction, breast revision surgery, salpingectomy, single oophorectomy)
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Dan’s Testicular Cancer Was Found by an Ultrasound, Not a Symptom
Dan K., Testicular Cancer Symptoms: None per se; discovered during routine ultrasound to monitor a varicocele Treatment: Surgery (orchiectomy)
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Kirsten’s Metastatic Melanoma Story: A Back Injury at 37 That Turned Out to Be Stage 4 Cancer
Kirsten R., Melanoma, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptom: Persistent, migrating burning pain in the back that began after a chiropractic adjustment Treatments: Radiation therapy, spinal surgery (to insert two supportive rods), immunotherapy
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JJ Was 27 and Thought He’d Beaten Colorectal Cancer. Six Weeks Later, He Learned It Had Spread.
JJ S., Colorectal Cancer, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Throbbing in the abdomen that he thought was a pulled muscle, indigestion, not wanting to eat, appearance of blood in stool, rapid and unexplained weight loss (four or five pounds a week), skin turning gray, sleeping 12 to 14 hours a night Treatments: Surgery (resection of tumor),…
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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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A Darker Mole on Her Face: How a Skin Check and Self-Advocacy Caught Cheryl’s Stage 1 Melanoma
Cheryl M., Melanoma, Stage 1 & Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Stage 0 Symptom: Preexisting mole that appeared darker than other moles, with shadowing visible around it Treatments: Surgery (wide excision surgery with sentinel lymph node biopsy), cryosurgery, chemotherapy (topical cream)
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Jade Thought She Had Appendicitis; When She Found Out It Was Stage 4 Appendix Cancer, Her World Changed Forever
Jade F., Appendix Cancer (Appendix Adenocarcinoma with Mucinous Features), Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Constant pain on the right side, constipation, bloatedness, exhaustion Treatments: Surgeries (appendectomy, hemicolectomy, hepatectomy, cytoreductive surgery or CRS), chemotherapy (hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy or HIPEC, FOLFOX)
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Jake Found a Lump Putting On Deodorant; It Was Male Breast Cancer
Jake M., ER+ Male Breast Cancer, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Appearance of a lump in the armpit Treatments: Chemotherapy (doxorubicin, paclitaxel), surgeries (full right mastectomy, clear margin re-excision, tracheal tumor excision), radiation therapy, targeted therapy (abemaciclib), hormone therapy (tamoxifen)
abemaciclib (Verzenio), Breast Cancer, Chemotherapy, Clear margin re-excision, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), Hormone Therapies, Male Breast Cancer, Metastatic Male Breast Cancer, paclitaxel (Abraxane, Taxol), Patient Stories, Radiation Therapy, Surgery, tamoxifen (Nolvadex, Soltamox), Targeted Therapy, Treatments, Tumor Excision
