Patient Stories

Jacky Costello details how her cancer journey has scarred her but ultimately made her stronger, which taught her valuable lessons about seeking support from others and finding strength through change.

Frank Sierawski had never smoked and had no family or personal history of lung problems, but what started out as a distressing cough ended up being lung cancer.

A.J. Patel, who ran around 20 miles a week as a semi-professional soccer referee, was shocked to get a lung cancer diagnosis and dismayed when his relationships strained. Then, an estranged uncle came to his aid.

Anna Winters found a lump on her breast right before a Gun N’ Roses concert, and now deals with thoughts of breast cancer recurrence and how remission doesn’t mean that cancer is over.

Michele Longabaugh, who passed after this article was written, addresses the stigma associated with anal cancer and her battle with this tricky disease, which she turned into a blog, a book, and advocacy efforts to help others.

Chris Andersen learned the value of trusting one’s instincts and asking for a second opinion after receiving a misdiagnosis of breast cancer that was later diagnosed as metastatic skin cancer and she was told she had 1 to 2 years to live. Thanks to a new treatment for skin cancer, she now has no signs of cancer.

As a part-time personal trainer and a veteran strength athlete with 16 years of competition, Patrick McNamee was shocked to hear that he had stage III rectal cancer, and joked with his oncologist that he was the healthiest guy with cancer around.