Getting a full-body scan to check yourself out for possible cancers might sound like a great idea. But what are the risks and benefits? And what does a full-body scan entail? Should you get one?
We consulted Melissa Chen, M.D., a neuroradiologist specializing in diagnosing brain tumors and head and neck cancers.
What is a full-body scan?Generally, it’s a scan taken of the entire body with either an MRI or a CT machine...

I am probably the luckiest unlucky person you will ever meet. I was diagnosed with four different types of cancer between 2016 and 2020. And...
A study published in Nature last fall suggests that breast cancer is slightly more common on the left side of the body than it is on the right...
On the night of Sept. 19, 2022, J’Nan Erker visited her parents to congratulate them on a milestone event. But after the celebration, she sat them down for a more sobering talk.
“Before she said a word, her face and body language told us that she was heartbroken and scared,” says Nancy Kimak, J’Nan’s mother. “She started crying and told us she’d just found out she had breast cancer. As parents, we had never howled and shouted with...

How do you thank someone properly for saving your life? Seriously, how do you accomplish that in a way that the recipient might find meaningful...
When I was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2018, I wasn’t really that surprised. My gynecologist had been monitoring several...
If you’ve been diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, you might have questions. For instance, is DCIS the same thing as stage 0...
I did not expect anything to be wrong during my mammogram. I hadn’t felt any lumps or noticed any other breast cancer symptoms. So when the...
Breasts come in all shapes and sizes, but did you know they can also vary in density? Breasts are composed of fat and glandular breast tissue...
I’ve been treated for three different types of cancer at MD Anderson. The first one was a rare skull base tumor called mucoepidermoid carcinoma...