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...
Skin cancer survivor finds courage, support in other patients
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 discovered...
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 when you find out you have cancer. You don’t know what will happen or whether you’re making the right choices or whether anyone else knows what it’s like to deal with the new bodily changes you’re facing. All of that uncertainty can easily consume you if you let it.
As someone who’s struggled 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 and pharmaceutical...
Depression during cancer treatment: When it’s more than the blues
We all experience sadness, stress and anxiety sometimes. A cancer diagnosis can amplify these feelings, with the stress and anxiety it adds...
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 fortunately...
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 to...
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 but...
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 goes...
5 things I learned from facing B-cell lymphoma while pregnant
When I was diagnosed with my primary mediastinal large b-cell lymphoma diagnosis in November 2017, I was in the second trimester of my pregnancy...
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 lung...
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 believed...