When Durba Mukhopadhyay, PhD, was diagnosed with lung cancer, she found comfort in a familiar source — art. Growing up in Calcutta, India, she and her three sisters often observed their mother and grandmother painting. “Our family is very much involved in the arts and we used to do lots of crafting during holidays in … Continue reading Helping patients heal through the arts
What is cervical cancer? Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers known to be caused by a virus known as human papilloma virus (HPV). There are about 200 types of HPV, including low-risk strains that can cause warts and high-risk strains that can cause cervical cancer. The types of HPV that can lead to … Continue reading 5 things every woman should know about cervical cancer and HPV
As my 50th birthday is fast approaching, it has me thinking not so much about what the future holds for me, but for my 10-year-old daughter. I wish for my daughter a world with less strife and more understanding. I wish for her a world that has cleaner air to breathe and cleaner water for … Continue reading Why this hospital chaplain swims for cancer research
As cancer research continues to evolve, we continue to push the envelope to bring better, faster, more effective treatments to the forefront for our patients. One exciting recent advancement comes in the fight against pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. Often diagnosed in late stages, people with this type of cancer traditionally have had limited options. But a … Continue reading Innovating treatment options for pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer
Dec. 15, 2015, is a day Patrick Koennecke will never forget. Now, he simply refers to it as “the date.” The 60-year-old Waxahachie, Texas, resident and warehouse manager was recovering from major back surgery when he began to notice a pain in his upper stomach on the left side. He described it as a broken … Continue reading Pancreatic cancer survivor thankful for clinical trial that saved his life
Have you heard the news? Recent reports reveal that the number of Americans dying from liver cancer has increased by 43 percent over the past 16 years. But what’s behind this disturbing trend — and should you be worried? Lack of screening for Hepatitis C Hepatitis C, a virus that gradually eats away at the … Continue reading Why are more people dying from liver cancer?
When I found out that I had Stage IV inflammatory breast cancer, fear set in immediately. As my husband describes that period of our lives, “the wheels came off.” What felt like a typical life of going to work, driving children to and from school, cleaning the house and walking our dogs turned into … Continue reading Why I started an inflammatory breast cancer support group
Growing up, there were a lot of different directions I saw my life going and versions of what I thought I would be doing at the age of 24. At five, there was nothing I wanted to be more than a NASCAR driver. I would pretend to drive my mom’s sedan in my Jeff Gordon … Continue reading What it’s like to be diagnosed with colon cancer at age 24
It is said that you cannot change your circumstances, so in order to make peace with them, you must change the way you react to them. Receiving a cancer diagnosis was a circumstance that I could not change. The harder I tried to push it away from me, the more fear surrounded the reality that … Continue reading How my cancer diagnosis taught me to live in the present
What if we could treat cancer with limited chemotherapy, radiation and surgery? Thanks to years of research in the field of immunotherapy, for some patients, that hypothetical may now be a reality. Immunotherapy uses a patient’s own immune system to fight off or prevent disease. This approach enhances or trains a patient’s white blood cells … Continue reading CAR-T therapy: Genetically re-engineering your cells to target cancer
