Category Cancer Patient Stories

A second chance on life: Grady’s story

“Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.” It’s been 10-year-old Grady’s mantra for the past three years. In the summer of 2018, Grady’s family noticed he was having trouble hearing. He’d complain that empty restaurants were too noisy and suddenly…

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Meet Mateo: The Comeback Kid

“I think this was supposed to happen to me so I could find my true self and inspire other people.” It’s a heavy statement coming from a 12-year-old, but Mateo isn’t your average kid. In 2016, when the Duxbury, Mass.,…

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I am Jimmy: Doug and the Pink Barbarians

Doug Fox was driving back from a client meeting with his coworkers when he received the gut-wrenching call from his wife. He remembers everything going quiet around him. He didn’t want to tell his colleagues—he wasn’t ready yet. “Reality changed…

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Judy and her dog, Norton.

A multidisciplinary approach to cancer care: Judy’s story

In March 2020, Judy Fine-Edelstein, MD, chief of Neurology at Cambridge Health Alliance, was working long hours caring for patients. Focused on her job, Judy dismissed her cough and aches as stress. When she could ignore her symptoms no longer, she got a blood test. The results were not good. Judy’s…

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Jillian photo

From denial to defiance: Jillian’s cancer story

Weeks prior to 19-year-old Jillian’s high school graduation, she had been experiencing fatigue and noticed a few lumps in her neck. She didn’t think much of them, but after encouragement from her family, she went to the doctor and soon…

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