Awake craniotomy for brain tumors: 8 questions
Imagine being able to talk to your doctors during brain tumor surgery without pain and give them immediate feedback while they...
Should you get a central line for chemotherapy?
Many cancer patients will receive chemotherapy infusions as a part of their cancer treatment.
Sometimes, it can be delivered safely...
The alkaline diet: What you need to know
Curious about an alkaline diet? You’re far from alone.
Maybe you’ve even heard claims that following an alkaline diet can help with...
17 ways to help someone during cancer treatment
When someone you know receives a cancer diagnosis, you want to help. But you may not know how.
Some people don't feel comfortable...
Immunotherapy side effects: What to know
If you’ve researched cancer treatment options, you’ve probably heard of immunotherapy, which trains the immune system to attack...
Colorectal cancer screening guidelines: What to know
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a new draft colorectal cancer screening recommendation today, lowering the...
Best of Cancerwise 2018: Our most-read cancer patient...
Courage. Hope. Love. Faith. Strength. Wisdom. These are a few of the gifts that our cancer survivors shared with us on Cancerwise this...
Best of Cancerwise 2018: 9 inspiring quotes from our cancer...
Remaining hopeful during cancer treatment is as much an art as it is a skill. And, our cancer patients and their families demonstrate...
Best of Cancerwise 2018: Advice from our patients and...
How do you explain cancer — or the effects of cancer treatment — to a young child? How do manage everyday life when one of your own...
Best of Cancerwise 2018: Helpful insights from our experts
A cancer diagnosis can provoke a range of emotions and prompt endless questions. So throughout the year, we shared dozens of insights...
Meet the husband-and-wife geneticists dedicated to cancer...
It hasn’t stopped being fun yet – and that applies both to their science and their marriage.
Nancy Jenkins, Ph.D., and Neal Copeland...
Paget disease survivor is grateful for care, support
When the small spot first appeared on her nipple, Karrie Morgan didn’t think much of it. She was shocked nearly a year later when she...
13 ways to help someone with cancer during the holidays
The holiday season can be stressful. That’s often even more true for cancer patients and their loved ones, who may be struggling to...
How I dealt with my worst lung cancer symptom and side...
I didn’t even know I had stage IV lung cancer until I went to my doctor in September 2016 for back pain. A CT scan revealed large...
Stage IV melanoma survivor: An immunotherapy clinical trial...
In 2006, I didn’t have any of the typical signs of melanoma: just a small bump on the top of my head behind my hairline. After a...
How we’re developing the next generation of physician...
For anyone looking to change careers, questions abound. Am I making the right decision? Will going back to school full-time pay off?...
Pathology report gives prostate cancer survivor more...
Even though several of Kelly Andersen’s relatives had faced prostate cancer, his own diagnosis in September 2013 came unexpectedly....
Breast cancer survivor: Don’t dismiss your father’s side...
Some people think you can only get breast cancer from your mother’s side of the family. But that’s a myth. Breast cancer can come just...
Acute myeloid leukemia survivor finds hope with clinical...
Six months after Emily Augenstein’s acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis, a doctor in Pittsburgh told her that her allogeneic stem cell...
Chordoma survivor: How a spine tumor changed my perspective
My life changed forever on the morning of Nov. 6, 2016. I’d felt some pain in my lower back, and decided to go to the emergency room...
Staying positive in the face of uncertainty
Before I was diagnosed with stage III melanoma in August 2017, I used sunscreen the way I think a lot of people do: I applied it once...
An immunotherapy clinical trial stabilized my disease
If you break your leg, you’re not going to go to a heart surgeon. So if you have cancer, why wouldn’t you go to a world-renowned...
Why I’m thankful for MD Anderson The Woodlands
I am thankful for MD Anderson for so many reasons. After I had anal cancer surgery in November 2017, I went to MD Anderson The...
How MD Anderson exceeded my expectations
When I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in November 2017, my first thought was that I had to get to MD Anderson. I’d long been...
Head and neck surgeon Michael Kupferman, M.D., shares what...
Michael Kupferman, M.D., first came to MD Anderson in 2004 as a young head and neck surgeon. Today, he continues to perform surgeries,...
Explaining cancer to young children: one family's approach
Seeking additional treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma presented a challenge for Emily Dumler in 2013.
At the time, she and her...
Husband of breast cancer survivor: ‘The fight is worth it’
Seeing all the color leave my wife’s face when she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2011 is a hard memory to think...
Coping with a lung cancer diagnosis at age 18
As an 18-year-old, Lauren Rodriguez never suspected her lingering cough would turn out to be a lung cancer symptom.
“I was in shock...
Lymphedema-relieving surgery keeps triathlete in the race
On Oct. 28, Mary Lindimore crossed the finish line of the IRONMAN Waco 70.3 triathlon. Alongside her was Cheryl Pfennig, the MD...
Colorectal cancer made me a better version of myself
Some people say that cancer changes them. But I don’t think that’s right. I believe it’s more accurate to say that cancer enhances who...
Gynecologic oncologist: Specialization let me achieve my...
As a gynecologic oncologist, I see women with every type of cancer related to the female reproductive system, except breast cancer. I...
Breast cancer surgeon: Why people should choose MD Anderson...
When I was growing up, it always amazed me how my pediatrician could ask just five or six questions, and then magically know exactly...
Cervical cancer treatment: Minimally invasive radical...
Abdominal radical hysterectomies (also called “open” hysterectomies) typically are thought of as more difficult for patients to...
Colorectal cancer survivor turns to clinical trial for...
Over the last year and a half, Shams Peerbhai has tried just about everything to cope with peripheral neuropathy, a cancer treatment...
Breast cancer survivor: Don’t wait to have lumps looked at
My dad’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was in her 60s. But that was considered pretty normal at the time, so she...
Triple-negative breast cancer survivor: Why I’m glad I...
Until I was diagnosed with stage I triple-negative breast cancer in December 2016, I didn’t know much about immunotherapy. But as an...
My brain tumor story: From caregiver to patient
As a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Puerto Rico, I always tell my patients that in any situation, no matter how hard or...
How hospitalists fit into cancer care
Being admitted to the hospital for complications related to cancer or your treatment can be scary and stressful. But hospitalists will...
4 lessons I’ve learned from the other side of the...
As a pediatrician, I’m not sure if my familiarity with disease has made my fight against colorectal cancer easier or harder. What I...
Stereotactic body radiation therapy: a new option for...
A decade ago, pancreatic cancer was treated with five to six weeks of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Patients often experienced...
Leukemia specialist: Identifying new treatments is the most...
Last updated Aug. 23, 2021
Because standard treatments have failed for so many patients, our goal at MD Anderson is to have a...
Sarcoma survivor finds his way to remission at MD Anderson
As a high school soccer player, Alex Frankenfeld often heard his coach say, “Busca la forma,” which is Spanish for “Find a way.” Three...
Mothering my own mother: A young adult caregiver’s story of...
After graduating from Purdue University in December 2016, I had no idea what I wanted to do professionally. But the “real world” was...
A CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial saved my wife’s life
I am a numbers person. So, when my wife, Emily, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in August 2013, I turned to the internet for...
Stage IV melanoma survivor: Why I don’t mind having visible...
An immunotherapy clinical trial at MD Anderson helped me beat stage IV melanoma almost five years ago. But the side effects I...
Colorectal cancer survivor: How I found hope at MD Anderson
In April 2013, I was a 37-year-old pediatrician with a busy practice and a hectic family life. I didn’t have time to be sick. But when...
Pancreatic cancer expert: ‘Specialization is the secret...
Because I treat patients in MD Anderson’s Gastrointestinal Cancer Center and I have a special interest in pancreatic cancer, I often...
Anal cancer survivor: Why I volunteer through...
When I was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2009, I didn’t know anyone who had ever had the disease. So I was frightened, confused and...
Breast cancer survivor grateful for personalized mastectomy...
Frances Arnoult had a double mastectomy, but she never had to see what she would have looked like without breasts. That’s because her...
Stage IV kidney cancer survivor: Immunotherapy gave me hope
When I was in my 20s, people referred to cancer as the “Big C.” Back then, there weren’t many treatment options, and the prognosis...
5 ways breast cancer treatment has changed
As a nurse navigator at MD Anderson in The Woodlands, I get to connect with breast cancer patients just as they’re contacting MD...
Plastic surgeon: Why I wouldn’t work anyplace but MD...
Working with breast cancer patients can be a challenge. Because while some are coming to us for the very first time for their...
Liposarcoma survivor: Cancer won’t stop me from achieving...
Before my liposarcoma diagnosis in November 2017, I was spending a lot of time at the gym. My focus was on improving my physical...
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor confronts cancer with faith,...
Most people don’t look back on their cancer experience with fondness.
But Jacqueline Wallace is not most people.
The 60-year-old...
Anal cancer survivor: Why I keep returning to MD Anderson
When I heard that Farrah Fawcett had died of anal cancer in June 2009, I remember saying out loud to myself, “Anal cancer? There is...
For follicular lymphoma survivor, clinical trial and...
When it comes to facing cancer, follicular lymphoma survivor Michael Baker says laughter is the best medicine.
Well, actually...
Pancreatic cancer surgeon: Individualized treatment makes...
At MD Anderson, we don’t just practice medicine by the textbook — we are the ones writing those textbooks. That’s why it’s so...
Breast cancer survivor: Why I support clinical trials
As an 18-year cancer survivor who has been on three clinical trials, I am a big proponent of them – especially at MD Anderson. I...
Kindness made the difference during my leukemia and kidney...
I don’t get sick very often. And no one in my family has ever had cancer, so when I was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2012, I...
3 things I’ve learned as an MD Anderson nurse
I used to joke that I came to MD Anderson by mistake, because when I graduated from nursing school, I missed all the deadlines at the...
How a testicular cancer diagnosis led me to Mt. Kilimanjaro
Before scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro in June 2018, I’d never climbed a real mountain. I live in Beaumont, Texas, which is only around 30...
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor grateful for fertility...
I often joke that parenting is more difficult than cancer treatment. Some days I feel that statement holds true, but fatherhood is a...
Granular cell cancer survivor: 6 tips for seeking treatment...
I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive granular cell cancer in May 2017. Because the disease is so unusual, I sought treatment at...
Losing my brother to glioblastoma inspired me to join the...
I was 12 when my 19-year-old brother, Brandon, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer. I...
Why I keep coming back to the myCancerConnection Cancer...
The first time I went to the myCancerConnection Cancer Survivorship Conference after being diagnosed with breast cancer, I remember...
Testicular cancer survivor: Do your self-checks regularly
Before I was diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 21 last year, I only did self-checks in the shower when I remembered to. That...
Inflammatory breast cancer survivor: Why I give back to MD...
After being greeted by the breast cancer survivors who volunteer in MD Anderson’s Breast Center on my first day as a patient, I always...
Robotic surgery for cancer treatment: What patients should...
For cancer patients who require surgery as part of their treatment, our doctors sometimes rely on robotic surgery to help remove hard...
Reconstructive microsurgery: What patients should know
Sometimes our surgeons must perform life-altering surgeries to remove cancer. And, in many cases, cancer surgeries have the potential...
Chondrosarcoma survivor helps other patients find their...
In early 2009, Hilary McQuiston-Fall was enjoying an active lifestyle full of outdoor activities in San Francisco, California. But...
Q&A: Understanding our Cancer Genomics Laboratory Moon Shot...
MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program™ is designed to reduce the time it takes to move promising cancer discoveries into the clinic, where...
Proton therapy by night: A granular cell cancer survivor’s...
When I was diagnosed with granular cell cancer in May 2017, my doctors at MD Anderson recommended surgery, followed by six weeks of...
Why managing heart health during and after cancer treatment...
Every year, the number of cancer survivors grows. That’s why it’s becoming increasingly important for doctors to make sure cancer...
Cervical cancer survivor: Why I support the HPV vaccine
Any time you’re told you have cancer, it’s not good news. Even if you catch it early and it’s only in the beginning stages, all you...
Triple-negative breast cancer survivor: 'MD Anderson is my...
Over the last two decades, I’ve learned a lot about MD Anderson as a caregiver, an employee, and most recently, a triple-negative...
My fertility uncertainties after Hodgkin lymphoma and a...
Over the years, my opinion on the biggest challenge I’ve faced as a result of my Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis has changed a few...
Bladder cancer survivor: Why I fly 3,200 miles for an...
Looking back, I wish I’d asked more questions when I was first diagnosed with bladder cancer in July 2010.
I have plasmacytoid...
My rare granular cell cancer treatment: Why I chose MD...
In May 2017, I was getting ready for the release of my first book, preparing to move into a new house, and looking forward to a 10-day...
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...
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...
Skin cancer survivor finds courage, support in other...
During one of my first visits to MD Anderson, I went to The Learning Center and read about the type of skin cancer that’d been...
How I managed my emotions during thyroid cancer treatment
As I learned when I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier this year, there’s a lot of scary and unfamiliar territory to deal with...
Meet Giulio Draetta, M.D., Ph.D.
Giulio Draetta, M.D., Ph.D., is a true global citizen whose passion for discovery put his career on a winding path with universities...
Depression during cancer treatment: When it’s more than the...
We all experience sadness, stress and anxiety sometimes. A cancer diagnosis can amplify these feelings, with the stress and anxiety it...
Coping with lung cancer and heart disease
I was preparing for heart surgery when I received a lung cancer diagnosis. The two health problems could have had dire results, but...
How a rare childhood brain tumor brought us together
My stepson Roberto Saenz was heading to junior prom in 2009 when his brain tumor symptoms began. As he rode in the limo, he started...
Rectal cancer survivor: Immunotherapy saved my life
Some days, I look back at my rectal cancer treatment, and I honestly can’t believe how far I’ve come. The fact that I’m not only alive...
Nurse’s compassion eases pancreatic cancer patient’s fears
It’s been more than a year since Jacquiela Dorsey, a stage IV pancreatic cancer patient, met Lady June Boholst, a clinical nurse who...
5 things I learned from facing B-cell lymphoma while...
When I was diagnosed with my primary mediastinal large b-cell lymphoma diagnosis in November 2017, I was in the second trimester of my...
A Ewing’s sarcoma recurrence won’t stop me from living
I recently completed radiation therapy, but I’m still waiting to find out if it was successful in destroying a tumor that spread to my...
Oral cancer survivor finds her strength
As a registered nurse, Asha Bhandari was familiar with cancer – even less common cancer types, like oral cancer. But she never...
Lymphoma survivor: Why I recommend hepatitis C testing
I’ve never taken illegal drugs, and the only time I ever had a needle in my arm was when a doctor was on the other side of it. So my...
Starting exercise prior to cancer treatment can pay off
Cancer can have a lasting effect on a patient.
That’s why rehabilitation is often so important after cancer treatment or...
Surviving sarcoma took a different treatment route than I...
One weekend in June 2017, I became incredibly ill. I’d faced digestive issues for three years, but this pain was different. By Monday,...
What older cancer patients should know about clinical trials
Clinical trials enable us to discover new and better cancer treatments. They offer patients access to cutting-edge treatments years...
My B-cell lymphoma treatment during pregnancy
During the first trimester of my pregnancy, I had a lingering cough that would not go away. I thought it was allergies, so I...
Colorectal cancer survivor: Giving back changed my life
Sharing my stage IV colorectal cancer story with others is a blessing, though I’ll admit: at the time of my diagnosis, I didn’t feel...
What are ‘omics and how can they improve cancer treatment?
One gene can tell you a lot about your risk for developing cancer and how well you’re likely to respond to cancer treatment. But...
The fatherly advice that shaped our doctors
As Father’s Day approaches, we asked our doctors to share their fathers’ words of wisdom that left an everlasting mark. Here’s what...
What does an inpatient pharmacist do?
Each day nearly 200 pharmacists around MD Anderson dispense an average of 23,000 drug doses. That’s 8.4 million doses a year, one of...
Glioblastoma survivor: Family and faith give me hope
I’m a 58-year-old guy who never thought I would be talking about “the C word.” Nevertheless, here I am recollecting the past year...
How I coped with my emotions during bladder cancer treatment
After I was diagnosed with stage IV bladder cancer in September 2014, I experienced many of the stages of grief.
My doctor initially...
Life after my leukemia diagnosis and stem cell transplant
Before my acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis, I was in great shape. I was training 20-25 hours a week as a professional triathlete and...
How a targeted therapy clinical trial is keeping my bile...
Cancer is not uncommon in my family, but I was still totally unprepared for my own diagnosis.
In June 2015, I was a healthy...
10 ways to celebrate life during and after cancer treatment
Did you know that a person is considered a cancer survivor from the day they’re diagnosed throughout his or her life? Here at MD...
Pancreatic cancer survivor: Why I participated in a...
During my 50-plus years as a nurse, I’ve witnessed some pretty amazing advances in medicine, and I’m convinced that they are due to...
How I reinvented myself after an osteosarcoma diagnosis
After losing most of my right leg at age 14 in November 2010 due to osteosarcoma, it was really hard for me to give up gymnastics. It...
What role does a pulmonologist play in cancer treatment?
You may know that a pulmonologist specializes in treating diseases like pneumonia and asthma, but these specialized doctors also play...
Kidney cancer survivor: Don’t delay seeing a doctor
Prior to being diagnosed with kidney cancer, I’d never heard of MD Anderson. But the more I researched my disease, the more I kept...
How my twin’s Ewing’s sarcoma diagnosis changed me
Cancer is a really big deal, but I never thought about it like that because no one in my family had ever had it before. Then my twin...
Why a brain tumor survivor brought his guitar into the OR
When Robert Alvarez was diagnosed with a low-grade insular brain tumor in 2013, he decided to hope for the best and postpone treatment.
My colorectal cancer treatment: How I’m coping
I was raised believing that everything happens for a reason, and that’s exactly how I’ve chosen to approach my treatment for...
Volunteer: How I’m helping others end cancer
One early Friday morning in August 2017, my wife Sandra and I showed up to MD Anderson in Katy for her very first day of breast cancer...
How to find the right cancer support group for you
A cancer support group is a safe place to share your experiences and connect with others facing the same challenges. It gives you the...
Immunotherapy clinical trial and surgery get kidney cancer...
Last year, Primus Moore was among seven referees selected to officiate Oklahoma’s all-state high school football games.
“It’s...
The end of antibiotics?
It was the real-life scenario physicians and pharmacists had feared.
A woman entered the ICU with a high fever and low white blood...
What I’ve learned as a mom and brain tumor caregiver
In May 2017, my 20-year-old daughter Brooke came home after her college finals with increasing headaches, vision problems and some...
Women with anal cancer: What to know about sexual health
Around 5,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with anal cancer each year, which is often treated using radiation therapy.
...
Preserving a child’s fertility during cancer treatment
When our daughter, Aaliyah, was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma at age 9 in November 2016, my husband and I were singularly focused on...
After my Lynch Syndrome diagnosis, I’m grateful to be a...
When I was 6 years old, my mother died from cancer. She was only 35, and at the time, her death came as a shock to everyone in our...
4 things I learned from my daughter's Ewing's sarcoma...
When my daughter Aaliyah was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in November 2016 at age 9, I was shattered, vacillating hourly between two...
The keto diet and cancer: What patients should know
There’s no one food that can cure cancer, but that doesn’t stop such myths from circulating. And while researchers are starting to...
POEMS syndrome survivor: It’s OK to ask for help
I was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre disease in 2012 and chronic inflammatory demyelating polyneuropathy (CIDP) in 2013. But I learned...
How we protect breast cancer patients’ hearts during...
Many breast cancer patients undergo radiation therapy as part of their treatment. While radiation therapy often comes with side...
Why I braved the big city for cervical cancer treatment
I don’t like change. But sometimes you have to be willing to make one in order to survive.
That’s what I did. I’m a small town girl...
My mom is the strongest person I know
I learned early on that my mom is more fragile than most people.
Radiation treatments she received as a teenager for stage III...
3 things I learned during Ewing’s sarcoma treatment
In November 2016, when I was 9 years old, I was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma. My parents took me to MD Anderson, where I had...
Employees' own cancer treatment shapes how they give back
You see them walking the skybridge: some people wearing patient identification wristbands, some people wearing employee badges. But...
Hepatitis C and cancer: What to know
Hepatitis C is one of the leading causes of liver cancer. It’s also linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, cancer in the bile ducts, and...
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...
Getting to know MD Anderson president Peter WT Pisters, M.D.
Peter WT Pisters, M.D., MD Anderson’s fifth full-time president, began his role Dec. 1, with a renewed spirit of unity and excitement....
How I found strength during breast cancer treatment
When I received a phone call about an abnormality discovered during my mammogram in December 2016, I didn’t think much of it. I was...
Clinical trial participant: Why I don’t mind being in the...
When I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (a precursor of acute myeloid leukemia) in July 2015, I don’t know what shocked me...
How I’ve stayed positive despite a triple-negative breast...
Before I enrolled in one of MD Anderson’s triple-negative breast cancer clinical trial in November 2016, I was in a dark place. I’d...
Opioids for cancer pain relief: Myths and facts
Opioids are medications that can help manage pain caused by cancer and its treatment by blocking pain signals from injured nerves to...
My advice for coping with Lynch Syndrome
In 2016, I found out that I had inherited a genetic mutation known as Lynch Syndrome from my mother, who’d died 26 years earlier from...
Employee’s courage inspired by our cancer patients
Angelina was Shamsha Damani’s best friend for three years. A constant in the MD Anderson program director’s daily life, well-known to...
4-time cancer survivor: ‘Don’t delay the checks’
Between 1995 and 2009, I was diagnosed with four different types of cancer. The first diagnosis didn’t really bother me. The second...
Colorectal cancer taught me to listen to my body
I started finding blood in my stool in the fall of 2013, but at the time, it didn’t seem that strange to me. Constipation runs in my...
Could the microbiome change the future of cancer treatment?
We practice hand hygiene to help keep ourselves from getting sick from the bacteria all around us. But each of us already has a huge...
Racing despite adenoid cystic carcinoma metastasis
In the last five years, I’ve competed in 10 professional outrigger canoeing competitions across North and South America. I’ve also had...
Triple-negative breast cancer survivor finds hope with...
A little over a year ago, Robbie Johnson was desperately searching for the right metastatic breast cancer treatment.
"I’d been...
Throat and salivary gland cancer survivor: Why I finally...
I resisted getting a feeding tube for as long as I could. I knew I’d have to use one eventually, but I didn’t feel ready for a long...
Exploring the final frontier to advance cancer research
Kristine Ferrone has survived Mars – or a simulation of the Red Planet, anyway.
During the summer of 2009, Kristine Ferrone and five...
3 life lessons I learned from my late husband
My late husband, Josh, was diagnosed with stage IV synovial sarcoma — a rare type of soft tissue cancer — in November 2014. He fought...
Breast cancer treatment revealed courage I never knew I had
Before I started breast cancer treatment at age 35, I had all sorts of ideas about how difficult my life was about to get. In a way, I...
Focusing on my pancreatic cancer treatment helped me stay...
Sometimes knowledge is not all it’s cracked up to be. So, when I was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in July 2016, I told...
Prostate cancer has made my family stronger
When you first hear the word, “cancer,” you think it’s the end of the world. So, when my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few...
Bond built during breast cancer treatment inspires survivor...
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...
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.
9 things to know about CAR T-cell therapy
CAR T-cell therapy is a new type of cancer treatment offered at MD Anderson through clinical trials and FDA-approved standard of care...
Hemangioblastoma survivor grateful for neurosurgeon’s...
When the headache started, Tabatha Conway recognized it immediately. Although it had been 20 years since she first felt that headache,...
Finding my voice after throat and salivary gland cancer
I’ve been struggling to make myself understood ever since I was a senior in high school. In April 1985, I was diagnosed with stage III...
How my late husband’s positive attitude continues to...
My late husband and I had only known each other for a couple of months when he was diagnosed with stage IV synovial sarcoma — a...
6 ways caregivers can improve their health at MD Anderson
As a cancer caregiver, you’ve probably been told it’s important to take care of your own physical and mental health, too. But...
4 tips for managing cancer treatment
Nothing could have shocked me more than being diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in July 2016. The year I turned 54, I thought...
Breast cancer survivor, volunteer: How I support other...
During one of breast cancer survivor Margaret Looper’s early visits to MD Anderson some 15 years ago, a volunteer who escorted her to...
How we're facing familial adenomatous polyposis
When my father-in-law was in his 30s, he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer as a result of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), a...
Uterine cancer survivor finds miracles in her rare...
Jan de Chambrier had always envisioned herself as a mother to several children. In 1990, she and her husband were on their way to...
5 ways to help a cancer patient with speaking challenges
After being treated for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (a rare type of throat cancer) in 1985 and salivary gland cancer in 2016, speaking...
Teen brain cancer survivor: Be a warrior, not a victim
In high school, I didn’t have much of a social life. I had trouble with insomnia, anxiety, paranoia, depression and apathy. As time...
Ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment: What’s new
Because its symptoms are often vague, ovarian cancer can be hard to diagnose. And a definitive diagnosis requires a biopsy, which is...
A cancer survivor's guide to exercise and heart rate
As a cancer survivor, you know that exercise is one of the key factors in lowering your risk of cancer recurrence. But how do you know...
Stage IV pancreatic cancer survivor: Why I’m giving back...
Two summers ago, my daughter Claire was about to start her freshman year at the University of Alabama. So, I thought being a...
Leukemia diagnosis brings survivor, daughter closer than...
Dana MacFarlane may have been the one who received a leukemia diagnosis, but she’s certain every one of her family members suffered...
Leukemia survivor finds second chance — and third wife — at...
Two-time widower Paul Nielsen was in excellent health at age 67. So the former marathon runner knew something was wrong when he...
Finding hope in helping others after my wife’s death from...
My late wife, Melissa, was diagnosed with stage IV synovial sarcoma — a rare type of soft tissue cancer — in January 2016. She died...
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...
Familial adenomatous polyposis monitoring, Whipple...
When he was 15, my husband Jesse underwent a colectomy, a procedure that removed his colon. Jesse opted to do this after learning that...
Leukemia treatment teaches survivor how to live in the...
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...
Cancer patients and the flu: What you should know
When it comes to contagious diseases like the flu, cancer patients are among those most vulnerable to infection. So, it’s important...
Stage IV lung cancer survivor: Targeted therapy clinical...
Everyone is dealt a card or two in life that will pose their greatest challenges. For me, that card was being diagnosed with stage III...
Residency program for oncology research nurses eases...
Suzanne Phillips enjoyed 26 years working for Dow Chemical Co., much of that time as a researcher in product development. It was a...
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor: A CAR T-cell therapy...
Before I was on a clinical trial, I felt sorry for patients participating in them. I considered clinical trials a last-ditch effort,...
Kidney cancer caregiver: 4 places to re-charge at MD...
My dad has been a patient at MD Anderson since July 2015, receiving treatment for stage IV renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney...
Breast cancer survivor: How I talked to my kids about cancer
When I was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in January 2017, my biggest fear was how my kids would be affected.
My husband and...
Being a nurse made me appreciate MD Anderson more
As a registered nurse and a cancer survivor, I have a somewhat unique perspective: I can see things from the point of view of both the...
4 reasons I volunteer at MD Anderson
Ten years ago, I completed my first shift as an inpatient volunteer at MD Anderson’s Texas Medical Center Campus. For the past six...
5 questions about anesthesia
Anesthesia is used to make you emotionally and physically comfortable during surgery. It can relieve anxiety, block pain and, in some...