Each cancer patient is unique. So, when developing a cancer treatment plan, our doctors consider all the things that make them that way, including their diagnosis, medical history and treatment preferences. Targeted therapy enables us to personalize cancer treatment even further by tailoring drugs to the genetic characteristics of a patient’s specific tumor.
“Unlike traditional chemotherapy, targeted therapy focuses on specific...
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare subtype of breast cancer whose symptoms typically first appear as breast skin changes. It accounts...
We often hear about lymph nodes when we talk about how cancer spreads. That’s because when cancer starts to spread, it often goes to the lymph...
When it comes to treating cancer pain, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Patient preference, allergies and potential drug interactions with other therapies all impact which approach your doctor recommends.
A lot of patients assume opioids are the only option, but there are many ways to help manage pain and increase quality of life.
Here are seven pain management options you may not be aware of, from least invasive...
Getting a breast biopsy? You might be wondering what it is and how it works.
A breast biopsy is a diagnostic procedure in which a doctor...
If you're about to have chemotherapy for the first time, you might be wondering what to expect from this type of cancer treatment.
Fran Epstein arrives before sunrise to organize gifts and review the inpatient hospital floors to visit. Soon after, others join her to prepare...
Cancer patients find hope in different ways. Some do it by reminding themselves that nothing lasts forever, and that this, too, shall pass...
Ever wonder what drives our doctors and researchers to end cancer? What compels them to work in medicine or even get out of bed in the morning...
During the past year, dozens of our patients and caregivers have shared their stories with us. Some dealt with proving a terminal diagnosis...
Whether you’re facing a cancer diagnosis, want to better understand your risk or celebrating life after cancer, you likely have questions...
Cancer patients come to MD Anderson for many reasons. Some want the expertise of the nation’s top hospital for cancer care for cancer care...
I was diagnosed with stage IV acral lentiginous melanoma in August 2014. The year before, I had bumped my thumb against the side of a pool...
Before starting breast cancer treatment near her home in Dallas, Brenda Scherer decided to get a second opinion at MD Anderson.
Looking...
Starting chemotherapy for the first time? If you are new to this common cancer treatment, you're probably wondering how chemotherapy works...
Breast cancer remains one of the two most-common types of cancer in the world, according to the World Health Organization. It’s the fifth-leading...
When my prescription reading glasses snapped in two without warning in November 2016, I had no idea how much my life was about to change.<...
I've always had to fight for my health. I had my left leg amputated at age 1 due to a birth defect, and I was born with the sickle...
I’ve been helping people get around at MD Anderson since 2002. First, I drove the ground shuttles that travel between our buildings at the...
I’ve been an educator for 16 years and a high school librarian for eight. I teach kids how to do research, so I know how to find stuff online...
For a long time, immunotherapy was considered nonsense by many people in mainstream cancer medicine. It had been tried for years, starting...
When I was 16 and undergoing treatment for a type of brain cancer called medulloblastoma, one of the best pieces of advice I got was from...
My whole career in financial services has been about creating positive experiences for other people. But I never knew how different one hospital...
When I was diagnosed with stage IV mucosal melanoma of the nasal cavity in October 2017, I got to MD Anderson as quickly as I could. My cancer...
I wasn’t working at MD Anderson yet when I learned that I had triple-negative breast cancer in July 2009. But after hearing about two family...
Cancer can be scary, so some parents may avoid sharing their diagnosis with their kids to protect them. But research shows higher anxiety...
Some people work all of their adult lives anticipating the joys of retirement. Planned retirement can be very exciting.
But unplanned...
I’m only 22, but I’ve already lived in so many places. Originally, I’m from El Paso, but I go to school now in College Station, which is about...
For Bridget Reeves, ringing the bell after completing six months of chemotherapy for breast cancer was “a big deal.”
Soldiering through...
Spirituality can mean different things to different people. Prayer to a higher power, connecting with nature or creating a work of art can...
This past April, Rosanna Morris joined MD Anderson as chief operating officer (COO). In this role, she oversees our inpatient and outpatient...
Navigating one of the largest cancer centers in the world can be daunting, especially if you’ve just had a medical procedure or treatment....
Looking at me now, people would never suspect I’d ever had anything serious wrong with me. I walk five miles every day and take the stairs...
One of the best pieces of advice I got before starting chemotherapy to treat stage III ovarian cancer was from my oncologist, Dr. Aaron Shafer...
I’ve always been a bit of an extremist. So, when I learned that skin cancer runs in my mom’s family, I started seeing a dermatologist immediately...
Most women naturally go into menopause when they’re in their 40s or 50s. That’s because as a woman ages, she has fewer reproductive eggs and...
After I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis at age 15, I began having my thyroid monitored regularly. In 2012, during a checkup in...
Although it's been 18 years, I still clearly remember how scared my family was when I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in my right femur...
If you had told me years ago that one day all I’d be doing was preventive medicine — and it would all be related to cancer — I’d have said...
When I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the vocal cords — a type of throat cancer — in the summer of 2016, there was no question...
MD Anderson isn’t consistently ranked the top cancer hospital in the country because of luck. It’s because it has the best physicians, researchers...
I am a very skeptical person, so when I hear things described as “the best,” I don’t really believe it. But MD Anderson has been called the...
When chemotherapy and radiation fail, some adult patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma or children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia have...
I knew that I wanted to be a nurse pretty early on. My grandmother was diagnosed with colorectal cancer when I was in the eighth grade, and...
When it comes to cancer screenings, some women might think, “Well, I don’t have any symptoms, so I don’t need them.” But that’s actually when...
From the outside, most people can’t tell that my mom has cancer. She looks great in short hair, stays really active and gets lots of exercise...
When Elijah “Eli” Delgado first started experiencing stomach pain, doctors told his mom, Leanne, it was most likely a gastrointestinal issue...
CBD oil (cannabidiol) is everywhere these days. Once available only at novelty or vitamin shops, it’s now also at your local grocery store...
As a homicide detective, I deal with people in bad situations all the time. But to be on the other side of that equation is very scary and...
A routine physical exam in October 2015 changed my life.
Doctors were alarmed by my low white blood cell count and wanted to...
Do you feel thirstier than usual? Are you experiencing dry lips or skin? These may be signs of dehydration.
Dehydration is a common...
Nearly half of cancer patients experience pain caused by the cancer itself, cancer treatment or factors that aren’t related to cancer. When...
I didn’t always want to be a doctor. When I first started college, I was a double major in literature and biology. I thought I’d be a literature...
Cancer doesn’t run in my family or my husband’s. Only one of my ancestors had it: my paternal grandmother died of lung cancer when I was 11...
Lymphedema is a common cancer treatment side effect that can cause swelling in a patient’s arm or leg. It may lead to discomfort, pain and...
Joey Nelson has always loved the sun. “I sailed growing up,” he says. “Every Saturday we’d go and I’d get sunburned like crazy, not even thinking...
Statistically speaking, I shouldn’t be alive today. Since being diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 27, I’ve suffered two...
As a surgeon, I am motivated by the challenge skull base tumors represent — both their complexity and the impact that they have on our patients...
The liver is your body’s largest organ. It’s responsible for digestion, blood clotting and helping get rid of toxins. But unlike other organs...
It was December 2018 when my family knew something was seriously wrong with my dad. An otherwise healthy 54-year-old man and avid tennis player...
Overcoming cancer can bring a new perspective on life – and health. Your body needs nutrients to stay healthy and to limit the long-term side...
Mary Taylor thought she was experiencing pelvic pain due to endometriosis in early 2015. She never suspected it was a symptom of vaginal cancer...
Pencil beam scanning, also called scanning beam, is the most advanced type of proton therapy. Only a few millimeters wide (the width of a...
The ability to swallow — or to eat and drink what you enjoy most without choking or coughing — is something that many of us take for granted...
Kay Atten’s dreams revolved around her four children. In 2005, her two sons and two daughters were on the edge of adulthood, and she wanted...
When I had an earache for a couple of weeks in August 2007 and couldn’t sleep on my right side for very long, I went to my primary care doctor...
I first came to MD Anderson in January 2013, after being diagnosed in Florida with acute myeloid leukemia. I didn’t know it at the time, but...
When I found out I had thymoma — a rare tumor of the thymus gland — I knew I couldn’t stay in South Texas for my treatment.
I’d been...
Until January 2016, I’d never heard of MD Anderson. I had no idea that it was considered the top hospital for cancer care in this country...
Liposcarcoma survivor Tom Gattle has never let his amputated shoulder stop him from doing the things he loves. He goes fly fishing with a...
Robby Witt knows about hope. In the last six years, he has gone through more highs and lows than most people experience in a lifetime. The...
As a nurse practitioner at MD Anderson, I’d heard of case studies where Ewing’s sarcoma survivors had seen their cancer return, even way past...
At MD Anderson, we believe that everyone deserves the best possible cancer care.
But we know that an extended stay in Houston isn’t...
Some people go to MD Anderson after they’ve exhausted all other local cancer treatment options. But for me, the thought of going anywhere...
Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, but when I was diagnosed with it in November 2016, it didn’t feel that way. I was...
Brandon Sterling’s first week as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) was a crash course in collaboration.
As a newly credentialed...
I was hired as an infectious disease specialist by MD Anderson in 1983. And until I retired in January 2019, I routinely helped patients with...
Keith Taggart noticed a lump the size of a pea in his left cheek in October 2014. He was also experiencing fatigue, weight loss, nausea and...
My husband, Richard, likes to say, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it!” That’s what he said to me when I first noticed the small bump on the...
I was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma in December 2014, a year after I had a cancerous mole removed from my left calf. I thought I was done...
Cancer survivorship is not exactly what I thought it would be. It has brought both unexpected hardship and indescribable joy to my life. But...
I first became an MD Anderson patient more than 28 years ago, at age 4. But, I’ve never had cancer.
I was born with a genetic disorder...
From vitamin A to calcium to folate to zinc, there are dozens of types of supplements. And if you’re undergoing cancer treatment, you may...
Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare type of acute leukemia that impacts about 500-1,000 people in the U.S. each...
When I was diagnosed with kidney cancer at age 29, I thought I had a life-changing story to tell. I was enjoying a great career and my young...
After my first ovarian cancer recurrence in January 2009, I figured longevity was probably not in the cards for me. Because once stage III...
When I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia — a type of blood cancer — I knew that my case was going to be a tough one. As one...
Andrew Jones was a rising star on The University of Texas men's basketball team in late 2017, when he started experiencing flu-like symptoms...
I first became aware of MD Anderson when my dear friend, James Ragan, of blessed memory, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the age of 13....
I am a strong, athletic, never-been-sick type of person. I am also very career-driven. So when I was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell...
Kylie Temple knew from a young age that she loved kids. As a NICU nurse in Mississippi, Kylie spends her days around infants, and in 2015,...
In late 2014, I was diagnosed with peripheral T-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. At the time, I had no idea what that would...
MD Anderson is a very humbling place. When I was there for my tonsil cancer treatments in late 2016 and early 2017, I’d always see someone...
When I was diagnosed with stage IB invasive ductal carcinoma — a type of breast cancer — in at age 36, my husband and I were clueless as to...
A mother’s nurturing love and support can help guide a child – or adult – to great things. Mother’s Day is an opportunity to recognize and...
It takes more than Band-Aids with cartoon characters to put children receiving cancer treatment at ease, but Leo Flores knows how.
...
Jennifer Smith didn’t come to MD Anderson first for her breast cancer treatment, but she wishes she had. After she’d undergone treatment at...
Rare. Unusual. Anomaly. All of these words are synonymous with being a long-term glioblastoma survivor. All statistical data suggests that...
When I was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, a type of oral cancer, my husband and I tried to be as open and...
When Adam Schoen first noticed he was losing his sense of taste, his wife, Claire, wasn’t too worried. She also wasn’t fazed shortly after...
When an ear, nose and throat doctor confirmed that I had tonsil cancer in October 2016, it came as something of a relief. I know that probably...
When my husband and I got married in July 2014, we were looking forward to our honeymoon to celebrate the beginning of our lives together....
Ever since Kathy Brown was diagnosed with primary peritoneal cancer in 2018, her husband Andy has been at her side. He drives her to appointments...
On April 3, 2007, I had a surgical procedure at MD Anderson called a total pelvic exenteration. During the procedure, Dr. Michael Bevers removed...
Looking back, the symptoms of my uterine cancer seem a little more obvious to me now. I’d had heavy and irregular periods my whole adult life...
I probably wouldn’t be here today if I’d accepted the standard treatment for my stage IV anaplastic thyroid cancer and stayed in San Diego...
If you’ve just received a breast cancer diagnosis, you probably have a lot of questions: What type of breast cancer do I have? How advanced...
When I began running at age 17, I ran about three times a week because it made me feel good and helped me maintain a healthy weight. It soon...
I found out I had cancer by chance. I’d had menstrual issues since my first period, and my cycle was never normal. When I was 14, a doctor...
I’d hoped that being a non-smoker who breastfed four children and never used hormone replacement therapy might protect me from developing...
I’ve had four of my back teeth removed, the floor of my mouth rebuilt and more than half of my tongue replaced with an arm muscle. But other...
One of the first things I did when I moved to Houston in late 2016 was contact MD Anderson. I’ve been in remission from colorectal cancer...
MD Anderson’s Dr. Patrick Hwu often tells me that if he could write a cancer success story, he would want it to read just like mine. Why?...
When Patricia Lines came to MD Anderson for her first appointment in 2012, she was impressed by the way all the different parts of her care...
You already knew exercise can help prevent cancer. But what if it could help you fight your cancer?
Researchers are looking into how...
Inflammation is the body’s natural reaction to infection or injury. But because of misinformation circulating in the media, there’s confusion...
My journey with colorectal cancer began suddenly and unexpectedly. One day I was feeling OK and the next, after a painful night, I found myself...
In 2016, osteosarcoma was the last thing on my mind. I was a typical and active high-school junior playing sports and hanging out with my...
A researcher designs new materials that could help prevent cancer in underserved communities, so why aren’t the materials being used? A new...
The career of Carin Hagberg, M.D., has come full circle. She began her career at MD Anderson as a research assistant in the clinical immunology...
As a former nurse in MD Anderson’s Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), I felt pretty familiar with breast cancer surgery. So, I thought I knew...
A patient writes, “The Astros will win the World Series next year,” in bold print as Jaquelin Velasquez watches. The clinical nurse in Lymphoma...
How often does a brain tumor save your life? In Kellilyn Monar’s case, it may have done just that. She’d planned to be at the Route 91 Music...
Lori Shults didn’t know much about clinical trials when she first came to MD Anderson in May 2017. “I thought they involved some people getting...
Leadership. Dependability. Teamwork. Problem-solving. These attributes essential for U.S. service members also are highly sought after by...
A new study has revived hope for the role of immunotherapy in treating glioblastoma, the most aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer in...
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2017, I was so stunned initially that I felt paralyzed. I didn’t know what to do, where...
When I was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in 2007, I decided to be an active participant in my cancer care. I joined a clinical trial...
MD Anderson’s employees are full of ideas -- ideas about new ways to treat cancer, new ways to improve patient care, new ways to reduce preparation...
Certain genetic changes, or mutations, can increase a person’s chances of developing cancer. These changes, known as hereditary cancer syndromes...
If it wasn’t for my daughter’s dog, I might never have found out that I had ovarian cancer. And if it wasn’t for MD Anderson, I might not...
After being diagnosed with stage III triple-negative breast cancer in the summer of 2017, I was treated at MD Anderson with a combination...
At 26, small cell ovarian cancer was the last thing on Tabby Soignier’s mind. She wasn’t familiar with ovarian cancer symptoms, but she knew...
MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program™ increases the speed at which our experts turn their research into new cancer treatment options for patients...
Cancer does not run in my family, so when I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in September 2016, it came as a complete shock. I was...
I never expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer at age 24. So, when I found a mass in my left breast in the summer of 2017, I wasn’t really...
When I first went to medical school, I thought I’d be a cardiologist. My dad was very sick with heart disease while I was growing up, so I...
When I learned that I had non-Hodgkin lymphoma in June 2011, an acquaintance said that he knew people who’d received treatment for that disease...
In January 2017, I was diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer. The disease was so advanced that I was given only a few weeks to live. So...
Abbey Kaler’s earliest memories of MD Anderson aren’t exactly fond ones. It’s the place she returned to dozens of times for follow-up care...
One year, cancer-free. It was hard to believe it, even as I typed those words on Dec. 13, 2018. I never knew I could feel so overjoyed to...
Last updated Sept. 11, 2023
Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Although it’s considered...
It’s difficult to say that someone is “the best” at something, especially when it comes to sports. How do you determine the No. 1 golfer?...
Our Pedro Ramirez, M.D., caused a stir at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s annual meeting in March when he reported unexpected findings...
Interdisciplinary care is a hallmark of cancer care at MD Anderson. Teams of specialists care for patients from cancer diagnosis to treatment...
It’s a good bet that somewhere out there, perhaps on the other side of the globe, a package from MD Anderson will be delivered to a cancer...