Seventeen years ago, a phone call changed the course of Fayleta Lawrence’s life. It was her mother, breaking the news that she had just been...

I’ve been teaching some form of band since I graduated from high school in 2015. By the end of that same year, I was already instructing some...

If you’re facing holiday temptations and wondering how you’ll keep your blood sugar where you need it to be or how you’ll stick with your...

Poop may be the favorite topic of preschoolers, yet very few adults want to talk about it. And if a problem shows up, like blood in your stool...

Kathleen Schmeler, M.D., has been focused on bringing high-quality cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment programs to women in underserved...

When cancer is found in both breasts or there’s a high risk of developing breast cancer, a double mastectomy may be an option to treat or...

My husband, Wes, and I moved to The Woodlands — a suburb of Houston about 30 miles north of downtown — in September 2019. We made that decision...

Immunotherapy harnesses the natural power of the immune system and enhances its response to cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are the most...

Much like adenocarcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas can develop in many locations, including the skin, lungs and cervix. 

Unlike...

You might know that flu season got off to an earlier start than usual this year or that the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is making a...

I always thought my husband would be the last one to receive a cancer diagnosis.  

Bill had always been very athletic and proactive...

The first few years after my stage II colorectal cancer diagnosis were pretty rough. I was in and out of the hospital with infections...

Cancer research is advancing rapidly, and patients are benefitting from new therapies faster than ever. One example is a type of targeted...

Bloating, diarrhea and abdominal pain are three of the most common symptoms of ovarian cancer. They’re also some of the easiest to overlook...

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy is an immunotherapy that’s started before surgery. It is almost always followed with additional doses of adjuvant...

In October 2020, Archna Chainani was diagnosed with stage IV triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), one of the most aggressive forms of breast...

Until she came to MD Anderson, 82-year-old Myrna Youmans had never heard the words “smoldering myeloma.” So, she didn’t know that they described...

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 94. My mother-in-law had it when she was in her 40s. But to my knowledge, there’s...

Some people make exercise look so easy. They’re at the gym several times a week, posting running times from their fitness app. It’s like they...

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by toxins that may increase cancer risk. After all, household products have so many unrecognizable ingredients...

Cassie McKee mistook her first colon cancer symptoms for food poisoning in 2017. When the active mom’s sudden nausea didn’t subside, she feared...

A urostomy is a surgical procedure that can be a part of bladder cancer treatment. You may also need a urostomy if your bladder isn’t functional...

Papillary thyroid cancer is the most common form of thyroid cancer. It is normally a slow-growing cancer and makes up roughly 80% to 85% of...

Lung cancer can form in any part of the lungs. When lung tumors grow in the upper portion of the lung, above the first rib, they’re called...

Nodular melanoma is a type of skin cancer that can mimic benign conditions, including blood blisters and acne. It’s also one of the more invasive...

Twenty-three years ago, Brenda Petru made a promise to her best friend, Sue, that she would continue fundraising for cancer research — no...

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and swelling in the joints. It’s caused when the immune system mistakenly...

In March 2015, I was diagnosed with cancer of the unknown primary (CUP). That means the original cancer site could not be identified....

Before I went to MD Anderson, I didn’t even know I had pancreatic cancer. All I knew was that I had a huge pancreatic cyst. And I only found...

There are over 6 billion letters, or nucleotides, of DNA in the genome. These contain all the information needed to create an individual organism...

Over the last few years, I’ve learned a lot about what makes MD Anderson No. 1 in the nation for cancer care. As a quality and compliance...

Many skin cancers — including cutaneous melanoma — are associated with UV exposure. Yet acral lentiginous melanoma develops only on areas...

Christine Routledge was three months pregnant with her second child when routine bloodwork revealed something in her blood levels was off....

Updated Oct. 31, 2022

As part of a complete breast cancer diagnosis, patients will learn their HER2 status. The human growth receptor...

When cancer cells enter the leptomeninges, which are part of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord, it can turn into a type of...

Last updated on Oct. 13, 2022

You may have heard that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization...

Michael Scott has always kept his support system in mind. That was true when he was diagnosed with angiosarcoma more than five years ago,...

When retired Major League Baseball player and Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez was diagnosed with cancer, he knew exactly what...

When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at age 63, it actually didn’t bother me. I felt like whatever this was, God had a plan charted...

The human epidermal growth factor 2 – also known as HER2 – is a protein that tells human cells when to grow and when not to grow. Sometimes...

The female hormone estrogen is “fuel” for about 80% of breast cancers in women who’ve gone through menopause. 

“Menopause itself...

Did you know that lymphoma is an umbrella term that includes several subtypes? In general, lymphoma is a cancer that involves immune cells...

Some cancer treatments can weaken the immune system, making you more susceptible to infections. This means that cancer patients can often...

Sophisticated cyberattacks are more common than ever as thieves find new ways to steal people’s information and identity. Patients with cancer...

How many types of leukemia are there? What makes each one unique, and are they treated any differently? 

We went to leukemia specialist...

In August 2021, Dawn Patrick found a lump underneath her arm while in the shower. She immediately made an appointment with her primary care...

When my 11-year-old daughter, Averi, fell at school, we didn’t think anything of it. But when the bruise didn’t go away after several weeks...

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...

Developed in the 1900s, photodynamic therapy uses light to kill cancer cells and spare healthy tissue. It can be used in a variety of cancer...

What are the different types of skin cancer? How are they usually diagnosed? What do they look like? And how are they treated? 

Most breast cancer patients undergo surgery of some kind. For some, this may include mastectomy; others may have breast conservation surgeries...

Beating a nicotine addiction is one of the toughest things a person can do, but it can be one of the best things for your health. Nicotine...

Whether you have a tattoo from radiation therapy or have a meaningful design you’ve worn for years, there are a few things you should know...

Roberta Burns was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on her 64th birthday. She’d been dealing with dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, for...

Carolyn Drone thought her days of coping with cancer were over. She’d finished leukemia treatment two years earlier and showed no signs of...

Last updated Dec. 1, 2022.

If you’ve seen the headlines about mpox (formerly called monkeypox) and are wondering if you need to be...

In September 2021, I was in the process of moving to San Antonio and finishing up some coursework for a teaching certification. Then, I got...

Rebekah Thibodeaux didn’t expect to see her daughter 13-year-old daughter, Lane, back in the saddle so soon. When Lane was diagnosed with...

When I was first diagnosed with Philadelphia-positive chronic myeloid leukemia in 1989, there weren’t that many treatment options available...

Since they were first introduced more than 60 years ago, stem cell transplants have cured or extended the lives of millions diagnosed with...

Roughly 85% of all lung cancer diagnoses are caused by smoking. But what does smoking actually do to your lungs? 

Does the lung...

What are the symptoms of colorectal cancer in women? Are they any different from the symptoms that men normally experience? And is it possible...

My personal goal has always been to run the New York City Marathon. As New York residents, my family and I have volunteered at the event for...

When you’re diagnosed with lung cancer, one of the most important things you’ll learn is your cancer’s stage. Staging is a way of describing...

If you’ve been told you need an endometrial biopsy, you probably have some questions. Why has it been ordered? What will it involve? And,...

A bag of simple peppermint candies can provide welcome relief from the nausea that sometimes accompanies chemotherapy. And a tube of high-quality...

I am a licensed clinical social worker. So, I’m a really good person to have around in a crisis. Usually, I approach those situations like...

MD Anderson donors can make a big impact for programs that ultimately support some of our youngest cancer patients like 5-year-old Giovanni...

Deciding where to receive treatment is one of the most critical decisions you can make when you receive a cancer diagnosis.

So, how...

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...

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children and adolescents. This type of sarcoma grows in the muscles attached to...

Hairy cell leukemia is a rare blood cancer diagnosed in only about 1,000 people each year in the United States. Usually slow-growing, it’s...

At age 21, most people are still discovering who they are. But I was being treated at MD Anderson for osteochondroma-associated de-differentiated...

I had symptoms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the spring of 2008, though I didn’t recognize them at the time. The first was a severe headache,...

Anxiety is a normal reaction to a perceived threat or stressful situation. It can range from mild nervousness to a full-blown panic attack...

Researchers have made progress in treating ovarian cancer through surgery and chemotherapy. Yet the disease remains tough to treat because...

As a horse trainer, Trey Bullinger spends hours in the saddle every day.  That’s why he blamed hemorrhoids when he noticed blood in his...

Mazen Nadim wasn’t interested in robotic surgery to remove his adrenal tumor at first. No scar, no deal, the 15-year-old insisted. After all...

When you hear the word “polyp,” you may think of the colon. But that’s not the only place in your body where they can develop. In fact, you...

I’d never heard of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) before I was diagnosed with it in November 2019. So, I didn’t know it was a bone marrow...

My mom died of breast cancer when she was just 51. A lot of other people in my family have been diagnosed with cancer, too. So, I always kind...

An estimated one in every 288 people has Lynch syndrome. “It’s about 1 million people in the United States,” says Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez, M.D...

Sometimes, routine health exams like blood tests can uncover health issues you didn’t even know you had. That’s often the case with a rare...

Cancer has been a part of my life practically from Day 1. 

I had to have my left kidney removed when I was just 4 months old,...

Growing up with a family history of cancer, Jonathan Ting knew the importance of regular checkups. If anything were to happen, he wanted to...

I ran my first triathlon in the summer of 2015. Even with the 100-degree Texas heat, I fell in love with the sport. I started training several...

The arrival of spring often inspires change, like spring cleaning. It can also be a great time to add more seasonal, healthy foods to your...

I was just 11 when I started smoking in the 1980s. Finding cigarettes was easy. My mom was a smoker, and when she reached the end of a pack...

Around his 31st birthday in April 2021, Brian Hertz scratched the side of his head and felt something strange.

“It’s hard to describe...

Whether designing computer systems as a management consultant in the oil-and-gas industry or earning an MBA at Rice University, Charlotte...

Everything I have today, I owe to my voice. God granted me a wonderful singing voice at a very young age, and it served me well until I was...

Cancer patients often need blood and platelet transfusions during their cancer treatment, and MD Anderson depends on our generous blood and...

French fries. Potato chips. Processed cereals. You probably know these aren’t the best foods for you because of the calories and saturated...

Daniel Frigo, Ph.D., developed a passion for science at a young age, inspired by his mechanical engineer dad and physician mom.

“I...

Ever logged into MyChart to check on some lab test results, then just stared blankly at the screen once you saw them? You’re not alone.&nbsp...

When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in October 2009, I knew exactly where I wanted to go for my cancer treatment.

Because with...

I’ve never been diagnosed with cancer, but I still get screened at MD Anderson for both breast cancer and skin cancer every year. And I tell...

Glioma and glioblastoma might sound similar, but there are differences between these two types of brain tumor diagnoses.

Here, neuro-oncologist...

Last updated Sept. 21, 2022

A cancer diagnosis brings many challenges. But from physical and emotional changes, to scheduling ...

Last updated Oct. 4, 2023.

Your body works hard to keep the sugar in your blood at a safe level. As soon as you eat that cookie or...

Many cancers have been linked to genetic mutations, whether they’re inherited or occur spontaneously.

Certain BRCA mutations, for instance...

Michelene Holmes was diagnosed with stage IIIA triple-negative breast cancer in January 2014 at 45 years old after she noticed a tightening...

If you’re confused about how your COVID-19 status might affect your eligibility to donate blood or platelets, you’re not alone. ...

I'm an immunologist and a T cell biologist. My work pushes our understanding of how the immune system recognizes and destroys tumors....

If you or a loved one have recently been diagnosed with cancer, you may be hearing a lot of terms like stage, grade, prognosis or minimal...

I am a three-opinion type of guy. Any time I need a job done, I always try to get three bids before making a decision. So, when I was diagnosed...

Cancer doesn’t run in my family, so when I noticed a small swelling on my collar bone in March 2020, I just shrugged it off. I travel a lot...

Most people who are diagnosed with throat cancer won’t see anything unusual if they look in the mirror, open their mouths and say, “Ahhhh....

Red meat is any meat from a mammal, including beef, pork, mutton, lamb and goat. These meats should only be eaten in small or moderate amounts...

In January 2017, I was 24 years old and had just started working in a hospital in the northeast. Mere days after starting my new job, my dad...

Dane Clark is still a lung cancer patient, but it doesn’t interfere with his daily life anymore.

“It’s about as simple as it can be...

Scientific discoveries are essential to driving advances in cancer care. From better screening and diagnostic techniques to innovative new...

Tumor forms when cells start to multiply and produce an abnormal growth. Malignant cells can invade nearby tissue and spread to other parts...

Though it happens very infrequently, sometimes people develop a second type of cancer in addition to the first. This could be due to a number...

In October 2021, radiation oncologist Caroline Chung, M.D., became MD Anderson’s first-ever chief data officer.

Her charge? To shape...

Meditation used to be a fringe practice, but now it’s regularly recommended by health care providers to help with symptoms ranging from stress...