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At 19, Every Nurse Told Taylor She Was Too Young for Rectal Cancer; She Wasn’t
Taylor M., Rectal Cancer, Stage 3C Symptoms: Irregular bowel movements, rectal bleeding Treatments: Clinical trial (radiation therapy and chemotherapy), chemotherapy, surgeries (ovarian transposition (oophoropexy), total proctocolectomy with ileostomy, hysterectomy)
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Caleb’s T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma Diagnosis Came Five Weeks Before He Died
Robin R., Spouse of Caleb, Acute T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma Patient ”Whenever I talk about Caleb, I truly feel so much better. It’s honoring him, in a way, and keeping his legacy going.”
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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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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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Brooke’s Small Cell Ovarian Cancer Story: Chemo, Stem Cell Transplant, and Life After
Brooke M., Small Cell Ovarian Cancer, SMARCA4+ Symptoms: Bloating, abdominal pain, small abdominal lump, fatigue, inability to stand upright Treatments: Surgery (oophorectomy), chemotherapy (including hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy or HIPEC), autologous stem cell transplant
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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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A Lump Jess Found on Her Neck Turned Out to Be Thyroid Cancer
Jess H., Papillary Thyroid Cancer Symptoms: Lump on the neck, elevated heart rate, unintentional weight loss, shortness of breath Treatments: Surgery (total thyroidectomy with removal of 59 lymph nodes), nuclear medicine (radioactive iodine therapy)
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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
