Whitney Jones, MD is a colon cancer expert | colorectal cancer | genetic testing | lynch syndrome
DESCRIPTION Whitney Jones, MD specialized in advanced endoscopy in Louisville, Kentucky. However, his career path changed when research...
Aug 14, 202219 min read
Kelley Pratt survived medullary thyroid cancer | fine needle aspiration | thyroidectomy | lymphedema
DESCRIPTION When Kelley Pratt went in for a routine physical, her doctor found a large nodule sticking out of the left side of her neck. ...
Jul 29, 202212 min read
It was after a lumpectomy with radiation that Cathy Leman survived breast cancer.
DESCRIPTION Cathy Leman’s breast cancer journey did not begin with something she noticed, but something noticed during her annual...
Jul 3, 202217 min read
Thanks to chemotherapy plus taxotere and perjeta, Heidi Slansky survived Stage III breast cancer.
DESCRIPTION In her early forties, Heidi Slansky of Keller, Texas was in the best shape of her life. She was a fitness fanatic and loved...
May 15, 202218 min read
Victor Phiri succumbed to Stage 3b multiple myeloma | bortezomib | radiation therapy
DESCRIPTION Victor Phiri worked as a pharmacist after twice surviving Stage 3B multiple myeloma, a cancer of bone marrow plasma, before passing away in December 2025. In 2018, Victor began to experience pain in his lower back. He was given the pain relief medication bortezomib, which provided no help. He declined an MRI, but the pain worsened, and Victor was wheelchair-bound. Victor was brought to a hospital, underwent a series of tests and multiple myeloma was indicated.
Apr 28, 202216 min read
Laura Kieger advocates for those with rare cancers | APC gene mutation | naproxen | duodenal
DESCRIPTION Laura Kieger became an advocate for those with rare cancers when she learned members of her family carried the APC gene...
Apr 21, 202215 min read
Marissa Willis survived Stage II kidney cancer | radical left nephectomy | flank pain
DESCRIPTION In 2013, Marissa Willis noticed a pain on her left side that wouldn’t go away. It got so bad that so that she went to an...
Mar 2, 202212 min read
Gary Brausen survived Stage 3B lung cancer | bronchoscopy | adenocarcinoma | cisplatin | alimta
DESCRIPTION In 2010, Gary Brausen started coughing quite a bit, which he thought was no big deal until it continued to get worse. He got...
Feb 7, 202220 min read
Teona Ducre survived pancreatic cancer | inoperable adenocarcinoma | folfirinox | gemzar abraxane
DESCRIPTION What began as severe lower back pain for Teona Ducre led to a diagnosis of Stage III pancreatic cancer at age 41. She...
Dec 8, 202128 min read
Dusty Baker survived prostate cancer | gleason score | brachytherapy | prostatectomy
DESCRIPTION Dusty Baker’s prostatec specific antigen (PSA) had been slowly rising when he was in his early fifties. That got the...
Dec 7, 202116 min read
Sallie McAdoo is a kidney cancer expert | active surveillance | clinical trials
DESCRIPTION Kidney cancer presents a unique set of challenges. It does not present a clear genetic picture, making it difficult for one...
Nov 22, 202114 min read
Michael Maalouf | The Rare Disease Interest Group | Lynch Syndrome | Arrthymia | Colorectal Cancer
DESCRIPTION The Rare Disease Interest Group (RareDIG) is run by medical students at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its...
Oct 27, 202116 min read
Michelle Stravitz survived triple negative breast cancer | chemotherapy | radiation
DESCRIPTION Michelle Stravitz shares her story of survivorship after being diagnosed with Stage II triple negative breast cancer. Her...
Apr 24, 202124 min read
Tom Aronson is an advocate for pancreatic cancer patients | diabetes | pancreatic cancer screening
DESCRIPTION Tom Aronson became a caregiver when his father’s annual eye exam revealed his father had diabetes. About a year later, a...
Apr 15, 202114 min read
Andre Dawson was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but survived after opting for robotic surgery.
DESCRIPTION Andre Dawson played major league baseball for 20 years and was good enough at his craft to be voted into the Baseball Hall of...
Feb 25, 202118 min read
Pam Mendenhall | caregiver of three family members with thyroid cancer | high needle biopsy
DESCRIPTION One by one, Pam Mendenhall of Dubuque, Iowa, learned that her husband and two daughters were diagnosed with thyroid cancer. ...
Nov 15, 202020 min read
Jenni Dyrdahl survived lung cancer | Stage IV metastatic adenocarcinoma | immunotherapy | PDL-1+
DESCRIPTION Unlike many on a cancer journey, it took Jenni Dyrdahl was taken on a lengthy, circuitous, painful ordeal before she was...
Aug 1, 202019 min read
Renee Marrero survived lung cancer | radon | a breath of hope lung foundation | thoracic surgery
DESCRIPTION Prior to being diagnosed with lung cancer, Renee Marrero already had an acute awareness of the disease. That’s because her...
Jul 25, 202015 min read