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Diagnosed at 32 for Stage 4 Breast Cancer; Claire’s Now Three Years Cancer-Free
Claire W., Breast Cancer, Stage 4 (Metastatic), HER2+ Symptom: Swollen and rock-hard breast Treatments: Chemotherapy, monoclonal antibody (trastuzumab, ongoing maintenance), surgeries (unilateral mastectomy of the right breast, full axillary lymph node clearance), radiation therapy
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Kelsey’s Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (Primary Mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma or PMBCL) Diagnosis
Kelsey S., Primary Mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma, Stage 4 Symptoms: Bulging jugular vein, vasovagal fainting episode, shortness of breath, dry cough Treatments: Chemotherapy, filgrastim
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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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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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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 Inhibitor, ALK-Positive NSCLC, bevacizumab (Avastin), Biphosphonates, Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy, lorlatinib (Lorbrena), Lung Cancer, Metastatic ALK-Positive NSCLC, 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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Camila’s Stage 4 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Was Misdiagnosed for a Year
Camila B, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), Stage 4 (Oligometastatic), KRAS G12V, PD-L1 Symptoms: Coughing up blood, mild fatigue Treatments: Surgeries (tumor resection, lobectomy), chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy (stereotactic body radiotherapy), targeted therapy
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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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Chelsea’s Bump on Her Temple During Pregnancy Turned Out to Be Leiomyosarcoma
Chelsea S., Leiomyosarcoma, Stage 4 (Metastatic) Symptoms: Painless bump on the temple with a stinging sensation, a small lump near the pelvis Treatments: Surgeries (excisional biopsy, wide excision surgery, excision of pelvic recurrence), chemotherapy (doxorubicin and trabectedin)
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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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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…
