Pathology report gives prostate cancer survivor more treatment options
Even though several of Kelly Andersen’s relatives had faced prostate cancer, his own diagnosis in September 2013 came unexpectedly. He’d never experienced any symptoms. His doctor diagnosed the disease only after routine bloodwork done during his annual physical exam detected elevated PSA levels.
“I asked the doctor if it could just be a mistake, and he said he’d asked the lab to run it twice because my level was so high,” Kelly...
Acute myeloid leukemia survivor finds hope with clinical trials
Six months after Emily Augenstein’s acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis, a doctor in Pittsburgh told her that her allogeneic stem cell transplant...
Colorectal cancer survivor turns to clinical trial for neuropathy relief
Over the last year and a half, Shams Peerbhai has tried just about everything to cope with peripheral neuropathy, a cancer treatment side...
Rectal cancer survivor finds renewed hope at MD Anderson
A nagging pain at the end of Sam Markota’s digestive tract suddenly became unbearable during a business trip to Thailand. The then-55-year-old returned to the U.S. for his first colonoscopy. In April 2015, Sam learned that he had rectal cancer, and it had already spread to his liver and right lung.
“My first oncologist had me dead in a couple years,” Sam recalls. After undergoing chemotherapy, he and his wife sought a second opinion...
Two-time sinus cancer survivor: Find humor, joy in hardship
Cancer wasn’t Adel Tawfik’s first medical crisis.
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Adel had two open-heart surgeries. In 2015, he had a near-fatal...
Immunotherapy clinical trial and surgery get kidney cancer survivor back in the game
Last year, Primus Moore was among seven referees selected to officiate Oklahoma’s all-state high school football games.
“It’s inspiring...
Prostate cancer survivor promotes screening exams
As an executive at an oil and gas service company, Andy Moriarty often shares safety messages with his employees. Lately, these messages have...
Triple-negative breast cancer survivor finds hope with clinical trial
A little over a year ago, Robbie Johnson was desperately searching for the right metastatic breast cancer treatment.
"I’d been...
Bond built during breast cancer treatment inspires survivor to volunteer
It had been two years since Billa Woollam’s last mammogram, and she knew she was long overdue for one. But it was a strange sensation in her...
Clinical trial makes grandfather two-time lymphoma survivor
Jerry McLeary can recall the exact moment he just knew that his journey with a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma would end happily.
Breast cancer survivor, volunteer: How I support other patients
During one of breast cancer survivor Margaret Looper’s early visits to MD Anderson some 15 years ago, a volunteer who escorted her to her...
Uterine cancer survivor finds miracles in her rare experience
Jan de Chambrier had always envisioned herself as a mother to several children. In 1990, she and her husband were on their way to fulfilling...
Leukemia diagnosis brings survivor, daughter closer than ever
Dana MacFarlane may have been the one who received a leukemia diagnosis, but she’s certain every one of her family members suffered just as...
Mom, daughter face breast cancer 15 years apart
In the early 2000s, Virginia Plett watched her mother and aunt successfully undergo breast cancer treatment at MD Anderson. So when the Kansas...
Leukemia treatment teaches survivor how to live in the moment
Dana MacFarlane is still in awe of her sudden onset of acute myeloid leukemia in July 2017.
“I take blood tests on a routine basis...
Radiation therapy advice from survivors who’ve been there
Whether you’ve just been diagnosed with cancer or have completed one treatment and are preparing yourself for the next, the thought of radiation...