Leukemia nurse fulfills promise to her late mother
For Clinical Nurse Mikela Pettigrew, MD Anderson is more than a workplace – it’s a place of healing, hope and a promise fulfilled.
“MD Anderson is the reason my father is a cancer survivor, and it gave my mother five extra years,” she says. “It’s also the reason I became a nurse.”
While she was a teenager, both her parents were diagnosed with cancer. Her mother, Christine, faced terminal kidney cancer, while her father,...

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) diagnosis fuels nurse educator’s passion for goal concordant care
Tori McClosky’s senior year of high school turned upside down when a tumor was found on her brain. The cause was neurofibromatosis type 1...
Enlightening and innovating nursing at MD Anderson
Clinical Nurse Christian Perez receives a message that a hospital patient is ready for discharge. Within a few seconds, the patient’s face...
What is the best donation for your blood type?
Cancer patients often need blood and platelet transfusions during their cancer treatment, and MD Anderson depends on our generous blood and platelet donors to fill this critical need.
Whether your blood type is rare, common or somewhere in between, your donations can help our patients, especially those with blood cancers and those in need of surgery.
MD Anderson performs more blood transfusions than any other hospital in...

Nurse finds fulfillment in transition to oncology nursing
Meghan Williams can now dispel many of the myths and misconceptions she once believed about oncology nursing.
Before joining MD Anderson...
Nurse makes each day count as cancer affects her family
Ashley Martinez will never forget the day her in-laws celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Not only was it a major milestone for her...
Nurse donates blood to honor father’s memory and help cancer patients
Clinical Nurse Christine Durana donates blood so often, she takes a photo of her arm each time to help her remember when it’s been 56 days...
Can antibody tests tell you if a COVID-19 vaccine worked?
Last updated June 7, 2022
If you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19, you may be thinking about getting an antibody test to see if...
COVID-19 vaccine gives ICU nurse hope
The last 10 months have been the most challenging of Patricia Galvin’s 30-plus year nursing career.
On Dec. 15, she became the second...
Insights from a COVID-19 vaccine trial participant
Last updated Jan. 21, 2021
Over his 27-year career at MD Anderson, Steven Sherman, M.D., chair of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal...