Stories of Survivorship
Allison: Bone Cancer Survivor
I cannot fathom the person I would be if I had not experienced cancer. Because I experienced cancer at such a young age it has shaped who I have become. I was diagnosed at the age of 13 with osteogenic sarcoma; a type of bone cancer. It taught me the immense power my actions have, not only as a cancer survivor, but as a person.
Marjorie: Breast and Cervical Cancer Survivor
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Marjorie had survived cancer before. Back in 1998 when she lived in Flushing, New York, she was diagnosed with Stage 3B cervical cancer and was treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy followed by a hysterectomy.Last October, Marjorie decided to take the train to New York, followed by a subway ride to Queens, to visit a friend. The next morning, she awoke with a pain in her outer breast. She thought it was a strained muscle from going up and down the subway stairs.After two mammograms and two ultrasounds, she met Dr. Anees Chagpar, Director of the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital. Dr. Chagpar told her that there were two masses in the outer side of her right breast.
Raffaella: Breast Cancer Survivor
Raffaella Zanuttini’s busy life as a Professor of Linguistics at Yale, as a wife, and as a mother of two boys, 12 and 15, does not leave her much spare time. So when her February mammogram showed more calcifications lined up in a suspicious pattern and the nurses at the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital recommended she have a biopsy, she was not ready to act. After having the biopsy done, Rafaella was diagnosed withductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). She made an appointment with Dr. Anees Chagpar, Director of the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
Audra: Breast Cancer Survivor
As a newly married couple Audra and Paul were looking forward to starting their new life together. They were young, healthy, and eager to venture into new careers and to share new experiences. However, when Audra was diagnosed with stage I medullary breast cancer two months into their marriage, everything changed, and would continue to change more than they could have imagined.
Jen: Breast Cancer Survivor
I can't remember life without cancer being a constant shadow lurking in the distance. I was diagnosed with my first cancer, Wilms' tumor, in 1973 at the age of 2. I had one kidney removed and received chemotherapy and radiation. Because of this, I was never afforded the misconception that "it won't happen to me."
Kelly: Breast Cancer Survivor
I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 11. The first question I asked after my biopsy was if I could go to a school dance that night. Following that dance, I began 7 months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Although the experience forced me to grow up quickly in many ways, having cancer at such a young age was more surreal than anything. After 18 years with no recurrence, I thought the worst was behind me and that I had paid my dues; cancer was “in my past.”
Robert: Esophageal Cancer Survivor
When I was diagnosed with stage III esophageal cancer my wife was 15 weeks pregnant. I had been having difficulty swallowing and noticed some back pain, but attributed it to acid reflux and stress. It wasn’t until I fainted at work and was rushed to the hospital that we discovered something more serious was wrong.
David: Genetic Testing
I never knew my Dad’s sister, Aunt Pearl, because she died of breast cancer at age 52 before I was even born. Many years later my father was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer at age 79 and was treated successfully with radiation therapy. To be honest, it never occurred to me that the two cancers might be linked...
Karen: Genetic Testing
When I was pregnant with my second child I developed abdominal pain that everyone assumed was related to my pregnancy. But the pain persisted several months after I gave birth to my son and my doctor ordered a full work-up, during which I was eventually diagnosed with colon cancer.
Margaret: Genetic Testing
Both Margaret’s mother and father were diagnosed with breast cancer. For this reason, she knew there was a strong possibility that she herself may be genetically predisposed to the disease. Although it was suggested that she have genetic testing at the time of her parent’s diagnoses, it wasn’t until several years later that she felt ready to receive genetic testing and find out her own risk for developing the disease.
Sheila: Genetic Testing
Cancer has been a part of my family story for as long as I can remember. My sister Barbara was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was only 39 and I was 37. You didn’t hear about early-onset breast cancer in those days… we were shocked. A few years later I was diagnosed with breast cancer and Barbara was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Debbi: Head and Neck Cancer Survivor
I had no symptoms, no pain, and no weight loss. Sure, I was tired, but I thought it was from working all day. I was diagnosed with a parotid tumor, which is in your saliva gland and I was told that 99 percent of the time parotid tumors are benign. During surgery it was discovered that mine was a malignant tumor, which was later diagnosed as stage IV cancer.
Gene: Leukemia Survivor
I thought I had bronchitis but one night I couldn't sleep because my lungs felt like they were drowning. I went to the emergency room and later that night I was told I had leukemia. I knew it wasn't good. I didn't freak out because I was too sick to get crazy about it, but when I heard it was cancer I was scared.
Janet: Lung Cancer Survivor
As a preschool teacher, it was not unusual for Janet to experience back pain now and then. It wasn’t until a Christmas shopping trip in 2006 that she suspected something more than a work related strain may be to blame. After reaching for something on a bottom shelf, she noticed she had trouble standing back up, and thought she may have a slipped disc; lung cancer was not one of the causes that entered her mind.
Linda: Lung Cancer Survivor
In May of 2007, I was diagnosed with lymphoma. Shortly after, while testing was being done to stage the lymphoma, two small tumors were discovered on my lungs. My first reaction was tears. It seemed as though with every passing day my results got worse and worse. Then my doctor recommended that I see Dr. Scott Gettinger, Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology at Yale School of Medicine and a member of the Yale Cancer Center Thoracic Oncology Program.
Maureen: Lung Cancer Survivor
At the age of 55 Maureen was not ready to accept her diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer as the end. She knew there had to be options out there for her, and she sought the advice of a friend who gave her Dr. Scott Gettinger's name at Smilow Cancer Hospital. After hearing all her options, Maureen decided on an aggressive course of chemotherapy. When she could no longer tolerate the treatment regimen, she eventually entered into a clinical trial testing the efficacy of a drug known as anit-PD1 therapy, which for Maureen, was a miracle.
Victor: Lung Cancer Survivor
When I found out that I was sick I didn’t know a lot about cancer or treatment options. I went to see my doctor because I noticed I had been losing weight, and was told I may have emphysema.
Bonnie: Lymphoma Cancer Survivor
At the age of twenty-five, cancer wasn't even a thought in my mind. In February of 2000 I was in the hospital for an unrelated illness when a spot showed up on my chest x-ray. My physicians took a biopsy, which revealed that I had stage IB Hodgkin's Disease. It took a few days to overcome the shock of the news but then it hit me...
Ed: Osteosarcoma Survivor
In 2000, when I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, I didn't even know what it was. I was 21, and it was my last semester of my senior year of college at the University of Connecticut and I had to leave school.
Mark: Pancreatic Cancer Survivor
Before being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 33 I thought I was in the best shape of my life. I had recently started working out, and it was during these workouts that I began to notice a pain in my abdomen. I went to see my family doctor, but after many visits and many tests, they could not diagnosis the source of the pain. To try to find a diagnosis, I was referred to Yale-New Haven Hospital for an endoscopic ultrasound.
David: Prostate Cancer Survivor
It was during a routine screening in 2003 that I was diagnosed with stage II prostate cancer. I was in my late 60s and felt fine, despite my diagnosis. Not having been sick since I was 9 years old, I was in denial at first and thought that if everyone just left me alone I could have at least another ten good years...
Fred: Prostate Cancer Survivor
My PSA had been high for awhile so in 2002 my doctor recommended I see a urologist. A biopsy was performed and at the age of 54 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Without my routine physicals I probably wouldn’t be alive today. We were able to catch the cancer early, and that made all the difference.
Pat: Thymoma Cancer Survivor
After feeling poorly for several weeks during the spring of 2006, I went to see my doctor. She listened to my breathing and said, “Pat something does not sound right.” Over the next five months I had several tests, biopsies, and scans done at a healthcare facility in my area, and initially received a diagnosis of lymphoma. They then thought it might be a virus, and a few months later, testicular cancer. Finally, after further tissue study I received the correct diagnosis of stage IV thymoma. My first thought was, “What is this thing?”
Judy: Thyroid Cancer Survivor
Judy, a registered nurse at Yale-New Haven Hospital, wasn’t entirely shocked when she was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in late October. Having worked at Yale since 1982 and as a nurse since 1976, she has cared for hundreds of cancer patients over the years; she understands first hand that cancer can happen to anyone.
