Back in the game after a brain tumor in the bladder
Annual Report 2018
At MD Anderson, courage is at the heart of everything we do. This year’s annual report highlights our courageous patients whose diligence and determination allow them to confront a cancer diagnosis and push through treatment, our daring researchers and oncology experts who develop innovative and creative approaches to battling cancer, and our students whose forward-thinking efforts and top-tier education will help reduce and ultimately eliminate cancer in the future.
Cancer survivorship program focuses on unique needs of young adults
A cancer diagnosis can impact a teen or young adult’s ability to succeed in school, make friends, or have children later in life. A newly launched program can help guide them through these and other cancer-related challenges.
Immunotherapy, a treatment that frees the immune system to attack cancer, has produced remarkable results in some patients. But it doesn’t work for everyone. That’s why MD Anderson researchers are combining immunotherapy with other treatments, so more patients can benefit.
Getting back to business is a top priority for this entrepreneurial mom
Given just weeks to live, he’s now in remission after a combination therapy
As a research nurse, Meghan Meyer recruits patients for clinical trials, follows their progress, and coordinates their care after studies end.
A MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences student is engineering “memory” T cells that remain in the body after cancer is gone and fight the disease should it reoccur.
CAR T-cell therapy is offering new hope to children with certain types of blood cancers who have no other remaining treatment options.
With only six months to live, a lymphoma patient turned to CAR T-cell therapy. Now he’s in remission, back at work and running marathons.
Misha Hawkins is a driving force behind MD Anderson’s introduction of CAR T-cells trials for patients with lymphoma and myeloma.
Patients are rebounding faster from surgery and having fewer complications thanks to a new program that improves the post-surgical experience.
A thymic carcinoma diagnosis and complicated surgery leads a Honolulu surgeon to reach out to the MD Anderson Cancer Network® for help. Read more about their collaboration here.
The benefits extended to members of MD Anderson Cancer Network go beyond the clinic and include access to important cancer clinical trials.
For this East Texas breast cancer survivor, being treated at MD Anderson’s League City location means less traffic, a faster commute and staff who feel like family.
Sandra Mitro serves as a caregiver for her husband who is battling cancer, so she knows what it takes to navigate the road to recovery. As a volunteer, she’s helping other families affected by cancer.
More than half of patients with triple-negative breast cancer don’t respond to chemotherapy. An MD Anderson clinical trial is providing these women with immunotherapy drugs and other treatments more targeted to their needs.
A clinical trial testing a daily oral medication for BRCA-positive breast cancer patients wiped out all evidence of cancer in more than half the women who participated in the study.
Researchers are studying the causes of health disparities, then trying to do something about them to ensure all cancer patients get equal treatment.
Students in this education and training program earn a bachelor’s degree in Health Care Disparities, Diversity and Advocacy. After graduation, they’re equipped to advocate for patients from all backgrounds.
Immunotherapy drugs have produced promising results in cancers like melanoma and leukemia, yet the drugs only work for 20 percent of lung cancer patients. MD Anderson researchers are working to change that.
The ProFit Program matches pediatric patients at MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital with college and professional athletes who engage the kids in fun sports and get them out of bed and moving.
Five percent of cancers are inherited when a faulty gene is passed from one generation to another. MD Anderson’s Clinical Cancer Genetics Program is home to genetic counselors, physicians and others who help those with a family history of cancer.
Allison Lippman was 30 years old when she was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. A new drug that targets her cancer’s genetic mutation has shrunk her tumors in half.
Genetics was introduced in nursing school curricula only 10 years ago, when most experienced nurses had already graduated. A unique MD Anderson course is closing this knowledge gap by educating veteran nurses about the role of genetics in cancer.
This year, about 100,000 breast cancer patients in the United States will avoid chemotherapy and the side effects associated with it. Instead, they’ll receive another treatment better suited to their cancer’s genetic profile.
Students in this bachelor’s degree program learn to detect genetic mutations that are associated with cancer and other diseases.
Previous Issues
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Annual Report 2016
75 years of Making Cancer History
Annual Report 2015
Research
Annual Report 2014
Cancer can’t surprise us
Annual Report 2013
Open minds, new frontiers
Annual Report 2012
The time is now to educate
Annual Report 2011
From our president
Annual Report 2010
Many voices help tell the story
Annual Report 2009
From the President