Best of Cancerwise 2016: Our experts’ most helpful insight
December 27, 2016
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by an MD Anderson Cancer Center medical professional on December 27, 2016
A cancer diagnosis can require you to expand your vocabulary, learn about treatment options and side effects, and ask questions you never thought you’d need to consider. Luckily, our experts can be great resources when it comes to expanding your knowledge.
This past year, our doctors shared insight on topics ranging from immunotherapy, clinical trials and stem cell transplants to fertility and cancer. Here are seven recent posts with our experts that our readers found especially helpful.
Q&A: Understanding immunotherapy
You've probably heard of immunotherapy, a new type of treatment that uses the body's own natural defense system to attack cancer. But what is it, and who should consider it?
Learn more in this interview with Dr. Padmanee Sharma, co-leader of MD Anderson's immunotherapy platform.
Understanding neuropsychology and chemobrain
At one time, chemobrain was considered temporary or an emotional or stressful reaction to having cancer. Today, through the research of neuropsychologists like Jeffrey Wefel, Ph.D., and Shelli Kesler, Ph.D., we better understand how certain chemotherapy agents actually induce brain damage.
Learn about our neuropsychology research and how our neuropsychologists are helping cancer patients.
Phase I clinical trials: What you should know
Phase I clinical trials are the foundation for how we develop new cancer drugs. And, for many patients, they can offer hope of successful treatment.
Learn more about Phase I trials in this interview with David Hong, M.D.
Understanding stem cell transplants
Stem cell transplants are often the best option to treat leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, as well as bone marrow failure syndromes like myelodysplastic syndrome.
Learn about the different types of stem cell transplants and how they work in this Q&A with Borje S. Andersson, M.D.
Fertility and cancer: 10 things to know
Some cancer treatments can affect patients’ fertility. So, it’s important to talk to your doctor about your fertility concerns as early as possible. “The earlier you have the conversation, the more options you have if you decide to pursue fertility preservation treatment,” says Terri Woodard, M.D., head of the MD Anderson Oncofertility Consult Service.
Read nine more things she wants you to know about fertility and cancer.
How MD Anderson's Moon Shots Program is working to end cancer through prevention
Up to half of all cancer deaths could be prevented with healthy lifestyle changes. Read our Q&A with Dr. Ernest Hawk to learn how our Moon Shots Program is leading the way to end cancer not just through research and treatment innovations, but also through cancer prevention.
Radiation exposure: What to know
Diagnostic imaging scans such as MRIs, PET scans and CT scans help our doctors stage a patient's cancer and determine the best course of treatment. While some patients may worry about the radiation exposure, our doctors go to great lengths to ensure they use only the amount of radiation necessary to get the answers they need.
“If you look at our data for the past six years in interventional radiology, we have consistently decreased radiation exposure by 30-40% on average,” says Kyle Jones, Ph.D. Learn more.
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