4-time cancer survivor finds security and comfort at UT MD Anderson

When Tamara Mitchell first came to UT MD Anderson in November 2023, she had already been diagnosed with three types of cancer.

In 2018, she completed chemoimmunotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and had radiofrequency ablation to destroy a small tumor near her left kidney.  

Then, a routine mammogram in 2019 led to a stage 1A breast cancer diagnosis. She had a partial lumpectomy and radiation to her left breast.

At the time, Tamara was living near Dallas. Once she retired, she moved to the beach on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. She remained under the care of a local oncologist who was managing the CLL before coming to UT MD Anderson for a second opinion.

UT MD Anderson guides treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Tamara saw her doctor after she began having significant swelling in her face and neck.

He suggested waiting until she had symptoms to indicate active disease before starting treatment.

“But my face was so swollen,” recalls Tamara, who was 64 at the time. “I called UT MD Anderson, and they got me in for an appointment within two weeks.”

Tamara met leukemia specialist Nitin Jain, M.D., who recommended treatment.

“I was so comfortable with Dr. Jain. He discussed different treatment options with me and answered all of my questions,” she says. “I used to teach chemistry, so I’m very analytical. What I appreciate most is that he met me at my level of understanding.”        

Tamara began taking zanubrutinib, an oral BTK inhibitor that works by blocking the protein that helps CLL cells grow.

“I am so happy to have Dr. Jain as my primary doctor,” she says. “If there are other specialists I need to see, I trust Dr. Jain will refer me to exactly the right people. I’ve never felt so secure.”

In June 2025, she relocated to the Houston area to be closer to her daughter.

Tragedies led to mindset shift ahead of cancer diagnoses  

Tamara has complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which she developed after suffering multiple losses in her life. It’s led to severe insecurity.

At age 14, she lost her father to a heart attack. She lost her mother nine years later to the same condition. On Easter in 1991, she was in the car with her family when it was hit head-on by a drunken driver, killing her husband and two-year-old son. She and her daughter survived.

She donated her son’s liver and met the recipient seven years later. They still keep in touch.

“As horrible as the night of the crash was, it’s helped me to look for the good in any situation,” she says. “That really helped color my cancer journey – facing multiple diagnoses.”

Tamara is thankful that if cancer had to happen, it happened to her and not her daughter.

“She’s the only family I’ve got left,” she says. “After being diagnosed with three different cancers, I learned to say, ‘OK. Here’s the issue. Now, what are we going to do about it?’”

UT MD Anderson treats cancer recurrence

That was her mindset in October 2025 when a routine CT scan at UT MD Anderson revealed a 4 cm mass on her right kidney. She was referred to urologic oncologist Surena Matin, M.D.

“Dr. Matin answered every question I had, and I knew exactly what the plan was to treat my kidney cancer recurrence,” says Tamara. “He explained that the tumor was in my renal vein, and I was ecstatic to learn that I could have minimally invasive surgery. If it had spread further into my vena cava, it would require a much more complex surgery.”

On Jan. 14, 2026, Matin performed a robotic-assisted radical nephrectomy to remove Tamara’s right kidney.  

She gets blood work every month due to chronic kidney disease in her remaining kidney.

“Sometimes, I get concerned about the cancer returning. Dr. Matin said when kidney cancer metastasizes, it tends to come back in the lungs,” she says. “But with every challenge, I ask myself, ‘What can I be grateful for?' When it was getting my kidney removed, I knew I had another one. So, the same goes for my lungs. If it does spread to my lung, I have two of those, too!”

At peace and enjoying life

Tamara began seeing a mental health counselor almost two years before her first cancer diagnosis. She credits his ongoing guidance, her faith and support from her daughter as being crucial in helping her cope with multiple cancer diagnoses.  

“I used to have 100-hour work weeks because I wanted to stay busy, keep moving and please everybody else,” she says. “Cancer has helped me learn how to ask for help. I’m happier, more joyful and more at peace.”

These days, Tamara loves traveling to U.S. national parks in her RV.

“I still have some fatigue every now and then, but the lovely thing about an RV is you can go at a slower pace,” she says.

She is grateful for her UT MD Anderson care team. They are managing the leukemia with medication, she gets annual breast cancer screenings, and her kidney function is being monitored regularly.

“I need doctors who are proactive in looking for things because I am so unusual in how many cancer diagnoses I’ve had,” she says. “I trust my doctors and nurses at UT MD Anderson completely. I know I’m in the right place.”

Request an appointment at UT MD Anderson online or call 1-877-632-6789.