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Marisa’s Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis and BRCA2 Discovery
Marisa’s Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis at 37 Led Her to a BRCA2 Discovery Marisa thought she was doing everything right, focusing on working out daily and eating clean. She was caught off guard when she started feeling stomach pain, bloating, and eventually saw blood in her stool. A dietitian’s suggestion to run a GI map test,…
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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…
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Diagnosed with Myxoid Liposarcoma After Doctors Called Her Lump a Lipoma
Kat G., Low-Grade Myxoid Liposarcoma Symptoms: Night sweats, appearance of a painless, golf ball-sized lump on inner right thigh Treatments: Radiation therapy including through a clinical trial, surgery (upcoming limb salvage surgery)
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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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Every Symptom Had an Explanation: One Young Mom’s Burkitt Lymphoma Experience
Jessica S., Burkitt Lymphoma, Stage 4 Symptoms: Extreme fatigue, back pain (sacroiliac joint area), severe tooth pain, growing lump in the jaw, multiple lumps on the head (that initially appeared as hematomas), difficulty walking, inability to lift the baby, severe pain preventing sleep Treatment: Chemotherapy
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The Lump She Dismissed for Months Turned Out to Be Stage 3C Melanoma
Marie R., Melanoma, Stage 3C (Metastatic) Symptoms: Unexplained fatigue, vision loss in the right eye (similar to uveitis, a form of inflammation affecting the middle layer of the eye), nerve issues, severe joint pain, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) flares, difficulty maintaining pregnancy, growing subcutaneous lump on elbow, difficulty drawing blood from affected arm Treatments: Surgeries…
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My Breast Cancer Diagnosis at 15 Weeks Pregnant as a Surrogate: Shelby’s Extraordinary Story
Shelby M., Breast Cancer, Stage 2B, HER2+ Symptom: Palpable breast lump Treatments: Surgery (bilateral mastectomy), chemotherapy (doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, paclitaxel), targeted therapy (planned post-delivery)
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From Active Duty to Lifelong Cancer Patient: Rachel on Living with Recurrent, Incurable Lymphoma
Rachel H., Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma (NLPHL) Symptom: Large, palpable lymph nodes Treatments: Radiation therapy, monoclonal antibody (rituximab), surgery (upcoming)
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College Freshman and Suddenly Fighting Leukemia: Anni’s APL Diagnosis Story
Anni A., Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) Symptoms: Severe night sweats, extreme fatigue, hypersomnia, sudden muscle weakness and leg failure, slurred speech, inability to raise arms, unintentional weight loss, critically low white blood cell count Treatments: Chemotherapy (arsenic trioxide, all trans-retinoic acid or ATRA)
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Diagnosed at 35: Zed’s Stage 3 Colon Cancer and the Power of Early Screening
Zed D., Colon Cancer, Stage 3B Symptoms: Fatigue, blood in stool, inconsistent bowel movements Treatments: Chemotherapy, surgeries (total colectomy, bowel obstruction surgery)
