Cancer Stories from Patients, Survivors & Caregivers

Your cancer support. 24/7.

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

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

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 about first symptoms, treatment decisions, questions to ask your doctor, and navigating life with cancer.

Start by choosing the stories here organized by cancer origin:

Spring Spotlights:

NBC’s Al Roker Shares His Prostate Cancer Story

Al Roker has become a beloved, familiar face for so many as the Weather and News Anchor for the TODAY Show on NBC for decades.

Now, he’s also a prostate cancer thriver and patient advocate with a powerful message: Get screened and do it regularly, it could save your life.

Chef Ryan Scott & Pediatric Cancer

You may have seen him on shows like Top Chef, The Today Show & Beat Bobby Flay, but Chef Ryan Scott shares a personal story here at The Patient Story: overcoming his pediatric colon cancer diagnosis.
Read more + watch him cook up a quick, healthy & yummy dish from his upcoming cookbook!

Featured Patient Stories

Richard P., Relapsed/Refractory DLBCL

On New Treatments

“I’d like to encourage somebody to keep on going, because it does get better. I have [diffuse large b-cell lymphoma]. Well, it’s not going to go away, but like I said, the next thing is right down the line. “

Carlos C.,
Multiple Myeloma

Impact on Marriage

“Don’t let cancer and the treatment control your life. Continue to do the things you enjoy. This is just as important for the spouse as it is for the patient.”

Dave B.,
Lung Cancer

Fighting Stigma

“If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer. People who are advocating in the lung community and very active are talking about how anybody can get lung cancer.”

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?

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thepatientstory

"I’ll admit I do have my fears. I don’t think

"I thank God every day that I am where I am at thi $"I thank God every day that I am where I am at this point because there have been so many options available. Maybe you don’t have the solution that you need today but you’re going to have your solution. Every day that I’m not being treated or every day I’m in remission and not in need or not in a dire situation is me winning. Six months, a year, or two years from now, you might have to go back into that same restaurant. But when you open that menu, you’ll be like, “oh my God, where all this stuff comes from?” And that’s just going to be the way it is. Things continue to evolve. Things get perfected. Research gets better. Funding gets better. Solutions get better. It’s an okay time to have blood cancer from my perspective.", Stephen B., Our Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Thriver So grateful to Stephen for sharing his story. Stephen was 45 years old when he felt his first symptoms that sent him to the doctor. After seeing specialists and undergoing several scans, he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or CLL. Now on ongoing targeted therapy, he shares the details of his CLL diagnosis story to help others go through their own CLL treatment and experience. Explore his story ⏩ link in bio! And if you want to share your relapsed/refractory CLL story, just DM us!$

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