Cancer Stories From Patients, Survivors, Caregivers | The Patient Story

Cancer Stories from Patients, Survivors & Caregivers

A connected and educated patient
is an empowered patient.

This platform offers the most in-depth cancer and patient stories out there. You can start by choosing cancer type or by popular cancer questions.

We know no two patients have the same journey, but people who’ve been through cancer treatment can help give you a sense of calm and control after a diagnosis. Learn from those who’ve already been through it.

FAQs curated by cancer survivors

Diagnosis
- What were the 1st symptoms of Hodgkin’s lymphoma?
- How did you choose hospitals?
Treatment
- What were the treatment options?
- Describe each cycle of chemotherapy
- What were the side effects?
Quality of life
- How did you deal with the hair loss?
- What are the steps for fertility preservation?

Timelines by patients done with treatments

Cancer Stories

Start by choosing the stories here organized by cancer origin:

The Caregiver Perspective

What should I be asking the doctor?
How do I support my partner through treatment?
How do we pay for this?
What are the different kinds of cancer treatment?

Navigating Cancer Articles

How can I deal with treatment side effects?
How do I talk to my kids about cancer?
Can we get pregnant after chemotherapy?
How can I ask others for support?

Featured Patient Stories

Rach DiMare, Breast Cancer

Listen to Your Gut

“You’ve really got to listen to yourself, listen to your intuition, because that’s what will help you get through the process.”

Tylere Presley, Hodgkin Lymphoma

Be Kind to Yourself

“You’re not going to get anything done today. That’s okay.’”

Bruce Matthews, Prostate Cancer

Research Your Options

“Take your time, try to sort it out. There are so many options now for treatment. There’s not just a clearcut path of what you should do.”

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UCSF

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thepatientstory

"After years of going through treatment, I should

"After years of going through treatment, I should have been grateful to be done but I came out of treatment really angry. Asking myself, “What did I do to deserve this”? I was beyond frustrated. Sadly I took it out on my husband. He really did bare the brunt of my emotional rollercoaster.⁣
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But if you ask him I was really just being an a**hole.⁣
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My husband supported me through my journey, 110% of the way. But I knew that if I kept driving him away by being snippy & curt with him that he would end up leaving me.⁣
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I wouldn’t blame him, either. He wanted to help me but he knew that he couldn’t fix me. I had to take responsibility for my own emotional wellbeing. He couldn’t just fix me, because...I had to fix myself.⁣
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I had to process through my own anger because it was destroying my marriage. Letting go and accepting that although this isn’t the vision that I wanted for my life. My life was still worth living but I had to get over being angry. I had to let go of the anger.⁣
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What is your biggest emotional challenge of survivorship?" - Casey Head, 3x ALL Thriver 🧡⁣
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As a survivorship coach, Casey has channeled her emotions from her diagnosis and relapses in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) into helping others. She also shared her story with us (link in bio) in the hopes of helping newly-diagnosed feel less lonely and hopefully, more connected and empowered. Thank you for the work you continue to do, Casey!⁣
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Also linked in our bio: For you unsung heroes, the caregivers, out there, check out our piece on 3 things to remember if your spouse/partner is diagnosed with cancer. 🫂

"One thing I love to talk about in my journey is s

"One thing I love to talk about in my journey is starting a family. Receiving my diagnosis, talking about my medication, my treatment options, the last thing on my mind was starting a family.⁣
My oncologist, whom I love dearly, told me she wanted me to think about the option or at least have the option to start a family, because once we started this drug, I wouldn’t be able to naturally conceive.⁣
I looked at her like she had three eyes. I was like, you think that’s what I’m thinking about right now? All I’m thinking about is living tomorrow. I just want to make it.⁣
My wife and I went home and talked about it, long and hard. It was something I didn’t have any interest in, but I am so grateful that we made the arrangements. ⁣
About two years into my journey with lung cancer, after several good stable scans, life started to feel much more normal than I would have ever expected. I think it’s because when you are handed a diagnosis, your life just flips upside down. ⁣
Doing things that got me back into a routine, like work, traveling with my wife, doing family get togethers, going and doing things with my friends, slowly but surely, I started to feel normal again. I got to a point two years where I felt normal enough to explore the options of starting a family.⁣
Thankfully, I am so grateful that I did, because if I had been as stubborn as I was with my diagnosis, and I didn’t have someone advocating, I might not have had the chance to make those arrangements.⁣
We welcomed our son into the world, scientifically, through IVF in January. He is healthy, he is happy, and he is the light of our worlds." -Stephen Huff, Lung Cancer Thriver ⁣
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When Stephen was diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer, there were so many other "boxes" about life he felt he couldn't even begin to think about. Starting a family was one of them. ⁣
Thanks to his doctor and wife’s encouragement, Stephen will celebrate his beautiful baby Owen’s first birthday next week! Congratulations to the family 👨‍👩‍👦 ❤️.⁣
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➡️ For Stephen's incredible, in-depth story on his own lung cancer experience and his work in advocating for other patients, check our link in bio. ⁣

"One. Year. Cancer. Free. F*ck yeah!! 🎗🥊😝

"One. Year. Cancer. Free. F*ck yeah!! 🎗🥊😝⁣
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I was planning on celebrating my first “cancer-free” anniversary by having open heart surgery today (because why not 🤷🏻‍♀️). However, the universe decided that this day shouldn’t have to be shared with any other medical milestone, and thus my surgery was postponed to tomorrow. With that said, I’m not really sure how to celebrate today, but you know for a fact I’m having a mini dance party in my kitchen right now. " - ⁣
Stephanie Fretwell, Cervical Cancer Thriver and Cervivor⁣
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Congrats to Stephanie on hitting one year! We are all for dance parties, especially in the kitchen 😉 . Happy Friday, everyone - cheers to enjoying what will hopefully be a wonderful weekend for you all ❤️.⁣

Wasn't planning on posting today but this video ra

Wasn't planning on posting today but this video randomly popped up for me and made me chuckle. Hope it does the same for you :). ⁣
This is from when I had to undergo what felt like a million tests to make sure my heart (and body) could take the hundreds of hours of chemo for my non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. ⁣⁣
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Shoutout to this UCSF doctor who made my day, answered all my family's questions patiently, and even let me film his first ever snap 😂🦌. ⁣⁣
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It was this kind of simple interaction every hour, every day in the hospital that helped get me through some of the hardest parts of the cancer experience (waiting for answers!). ⁣⁣
-Stephanie, The Patient Story

“I brought up the question of fertility. My doct

“I brought up the question of fertility. My doctor didn’t bring it up. Luckily my cancer wasn’t as aggressive so I was able to put off starting my chemo and radiation regimen for the four-week cycle of IVF.⁣
I would say that the doctor’s goal is to kill the cancer. Their main concern is not your quality of life or necessarily what happens after they’ve done their job of killing the cancer and keeping you alive. That’s their goal. They’re people, too, so they are aware and they’ll sympathize but it’s on you to be your own advocate.⁣
If having children is something that’s important to you, really research the options that you have and bring it up because they’re not necessarily going to bring it up. For example with my radiation oncologist, he was very open and upfront with me about the fact that after radiation I would more likely than not, not be able to carry my own child. ⁣
That was the aspect of fertility that he brought up. Not anything about IVF or surrogacy. So being able to do your own kind of research in that and bringing it up with the doctors, asking them to maybe postpone treatment if possible to go through an expedited round of IVF is really important." - Mila Lazarevsky, Cervical Cancer Thriver⁣
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In honor of January as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, we’re sharing Mila’s story after getting diagnosed at just 29 years old. She talks everything, from surgery, chemo, to radiation and quality of life topics like fertility preservation (link in bio). Thank you, Mila, for reminding us all to advocate for ourselves. 🙌⁣
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“Having cancer has taught me to drink my coffee

“Having cancer has taught me to drink my coffee slower, to inhale the salty air while I am on the beach with friends, to forgive quickly and love loudly, to digest every single moment that I have on this earth.⁣
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I would never wish my past on anyone, but I would give my new outlook on life to the world.”⁣
-Marissa Norys, Cervical Cancer Thriver⁣
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Marissa has highlighted one of the positives of going through a cancer diagnosis: learning to appreciate life and all the wonderful little moments it gives you, despite all the hardships. ⁣
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Another thing Marissa has taught us in her story is how important it is to be your own advocate and to fight for the answers you deserve. It can make the difference in your diagnosis and treatment. Fight for Y O U✨⁣
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In honor of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, we urge our community to read and learn more about it. Marissa’s story is a great start, and you can read it by clicking the link in our bio 💞⁣
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#cervicalcancer #cervicalcancerawareness #cervicalcancerawarenessmonth #selfadvocacy #thepatientstory

“Swing harder, punch harder, and don’t give up

“Swing harder, punch harder, and don’t give up. Find the good in this horrible situation.
Cancer is ⁣crappy. It’s horrible. It’s negative. Why focus on that?⁣
Choose to find something positive and bring joy to your life. At the end of the day, it’s a cancer diagnosis, but it doesn’t take up enough space that it takes away who you are as a person.⁣”⁣
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Cheyann Shaw: one of the brightest voices out there leading our community. Thank you for living a life of joy, strength, and beauty. Your voice will continue to inspire countless people who visit our platform looking for connection and your story will live forever in our memories 🦋.

“I used to cry when I was alone in the hospital.

“I used to cry when I was alone in the hospital. I was scared. I didn’t want to leave the world like this. Life is vital to me. I had lots of plans for the future.⁣
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Despite my momentary weaknesses, I knew I couldn’t afford to lose faith or hope. I had to fight and beat cancer. I kept encouraging everyone around me and telling them that it was okay, and I was going to be okay. ⁣
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The only way to cope was to keep a positive mind-set, stay healthy, and have faith in God. Every day I decided to face this challenging time with strength, determination, and positivity. ⁣
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I am grateful for my incredible husband, family, and close friends who went above and beyond to support me during these dire times. This made me feel strong enough to fight this battle like a warrior. I was not alone in this fight to defeat cancer. ⁣
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During this whole journey, I have battled many hardships. I was anxious about what will happen next. Will I survive and win this battle? This messed up my head, but I had to stay positive to keep my strength.”⁣
Niki Kaur, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Thriver 💜⁣
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Niki has gone through months and months of both diagnostic and treatment procedures. Even in the toughest moments, she persevered and pushed through to the finish line. Niki’s inspiration? Her loved ones; her support circle. That’s the key to getting through the trying times. ⁣
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Our community is here to offer that same love and support to those who need it. It’s amazing what can inspire you to keep going! ⁣
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As we approach the new year, always remember that no matter what happens, you just keep the faith and keep positive vibes around you ✨✨ ⁣
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Thank you Niki for sharing your story with us - we are so glad you’ve made it! To learn more about Niki and her journey with a rare form of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma➡️click the link in our bio! ⁣
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#nonhodgkinlymphoma #nhlymphoma #lymphoma #nonhodgkinslymphomasurvivor #nonhodgkinslymphomaawareness #thepatientstory

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NOTE: Information on the site is not medical advice. It’s shared by our cancer community members.