10 Cancer Survival Stories That Will Give Everyone A Ray Of Hope

She was 38 years old in April 2015 when she noticed blood in her urine. A nurse, she diagnosed herself with a kidney stone. When she later began having pain in her lower right side, she was even more certain she had a stone. The pain in her side got so bad she went to the emergency room, where doctors also thought Swift had a kidney stone. But a CT scan showed a mass on her right kidney. It was cancer. Swift eventually learned she had Stage III renal cell carcinoma. It was, says Swift, “a complete shock.” The tumour was large, 10 cm. But the tumour had not yet spread outside of Swift’s kidney, and she was able to have surgery to remove it, and the cancer along with it. She didn’t receive radiation or chemotherapy. “I have actually struggled with identifying as a cancer survivor,” said Swift. “But over the past year I’ve realised I AM a cancer survivor. The emotional journey of cancer affects us all, even if we aren’t on the typical journey of chemo and radiation. It’s been a process to accept that.” In 2015, a few months after her surgery, Swift participated in Relay For Life for the first time as a survivor.