Faces of Blue

Dr. Joaquin Estrada is helping Chicago become the forefront of colorectal cancer. Estrada is a colorectal surgeon, the Surgical Director for Digestive Health at the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center…

It was the summer of 2016. I was looking forward to celebrating our daughter’s big 16th birthday party, summer vacation with the kids, swimming at the beach, and the family…

My name is Ilene Mastrangelo, I am a 42-year-old widow with a 6-year-old daughter. I was my husband’s caretaker and advocate; here’s our story. My husband was diagnosed with Crohn’s…

Editor’s Note: Feb. 28, 2021: Kara passed away on Feb. 25, 2021. Our hearts are with her family, friends, and loved ones.  I began having noticeable bowel issues and ended…

I was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 29, after a long fight to get my general practitioner to take me seriously. Subsequently, I was diagnosed with hypermethylation…

In 1998, when I was 34, I was first diagnosed with stage III colon cancer. Our daughters were still in elementary school and we had just moved to Florida from…

In July of 2015, I was living in Delaware with my fiancé. One morning, as he left for work and I began my day of studying for the California bar…

My name is Nicole Rivera and I’m 28-years-old. I have a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of South Carolina. I was the first person in my family to graduate…

I was born in St. Louis in 1966, five minutes later than my twin sister, Cheryl. I grew up in the Boston suburbs of Framingham, Massachusetts, being very active in…

Lisa met her husband, Mitchell Baxter, during a mutual friend’s baby christening back in 1992. They were introduced and it was an instant connection. After dating in 1993, they got…