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 cancer, rather than attacking the cancer directly. You also might've heard that immunotherapy causes fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy.
But that’s not always the case.
More than 60% of patients who receive some form of immunotherapy will also develop side effects. Some...
Cervical cancer treatment: Minimally invasive radical hysterectomy vs. abdominal hysterectomy
Abdominal radical hysterectomies (also called “open” hysterectomies) typically are thought of as more difficult for patients to recover from...
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...
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 didn’t have any genetic testing done. That’s why it was such a shock to be diagnosed with breast cancer myself at age 28 in January 2017. As far as I knew, my grandmother and I were the only people in my family who’d ever had cancer.
Because I was so young when I was diagnosed, I got genetic testing...
Triple-negative breast cancer survivor: Why I’m glad I stayed on an immunotherapy clinical trial
Until I was diagnosed with stage I triple-negative breast cancer in December 2016, I didn’t know much about immunotherapy. But as an executive...
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 difficult it...
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 help...
4 lessons I’ve learned from the other side of the stethoscope
As a pediatrician, I’m not sure if my familiarity with disease has made my fight against colorectal cancer easier or harder. What I can tell...
Stereotactic body radiation therapy: a new option for pancreatic cancer patients
A decade ago, pancreatic cancer was treated with five to six weeks of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Patients often experienced side...
Leukemia specialist: Identifying new treatments is the most gratifying part of my job
Last updated Aug. 23, 2021
Because standard treatments have failed for so many patients, our goal at MD Anderson is to have a clinical...
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 years...
Mothering my own mother: A young adult caregiver’s story of role reversal
After graduating from Purdue University in December 2016, I had no idea what I wanted to do professionally. But the “real world” was fast...
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 some...
Stage IV melanoma survivor: Why I don’t mind having visible side effects
An immunotherapy clinical trial at MD Anderson helped me beat stage IV melanoma almost five years ago. But the side effects I experienced...
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 my...
Pancreatic cancer expert: ‘Specialization is the secret sauce of MD Anderson’
Because I treat patients in MD Anderson’s Gastrointestinal Cancer Center and I have a special interest in pancreatic cancer, I often get asked...
Anal cancer survivor: Why I volunteer through myCancerConnection
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 didn’t...
Breast cancer survivor grateful for personalized mastectomy and reconstruction decisions
Frances Arnoult had a double mastectomy, but she never had to see what she would have looked like without breasts. That’s because her MD Anderson...