Cancer Patient Stories

Patient Stories about cancer

July 10, 2014

Tongue Cancer Doesn’t Slow Drummer’s Beat

Kelly Gardner

The rock’n’roll lifestyle doesn’t allow a nagging sore on your tongue to slow you down, and it surely isn’t a very “punk-rock” detail to complain about. After all, Larry Massanet, 42, still had unhampered use of two thundering arms to pummel his drum kit with while keeping beat in two active bands in which he…


July 5, 2014

From Rocky Road to Baby Bump

Kelly Gardner

If you had seen Catherine Wood Burton jogging the trails of Allsopp Park in Little Rock, you would have thought she was the picture of perfect health. But Catherine’s journey from near death to new life began with an appendectomy that led to a cancer diagnosis and ended with the birth of a healthy baby…


July 3, 2014

Myeloma Patient “In Good Hands”

Kelly Gardner

Claudia Jessup’s life has taken her in many directions. Twenty years ago, she and her husband, Jonathan Richards, moved their young family from New York to Santa Fe, N.M. Jessup, an author, and Richards, a journalist and cartoonist, knew they could relocate their careers cross country with relative ease, while also giving their two daughters…


June 30, 2014

Procedure Energizes Patient With Chronic Lung Disease

Kelly Gardner

Bob Anderson’s health was deteriorating at an alarming rate before he saw Thaddeus Bartter, M.D., at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Recurring bouts of pneumonia led to a lung cancer diagnosis one month after he retired, and he developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic bronchitis. Radiation treatment further reduced his lung function…


June 4, 2014

Breast Cancer Patient First for UAMS Lymphedema Surgery

Kelly Gardner

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is the first in Arkansas and one of a handful of medical centers in the country offering a new surgical alternative to treat lymphedema, the chronic arm swelling frequently associated with breast cancer treatment. The unique microvascular procedure at UAMS is performed by Mauricio Moreno, M.D., who…


June 1, 2014

Cord Blood Transplant Gives 18-Month-Old New Lease on Life

Kelly Gardner

The weeks surrounding Valentine’s Day 2008 were heart-wrenching for Brian and Jennifer Odle. But because of an innovative use of cord blood and a strong-willed 18-month-old baby girl, the family’s memories of that winter soon evolved into a heartwarming affair. During a family fishing trip to their retreat on the Little Red River that February, the…


May 30, 2014

Myton Wants World to Hear Her Story of Hope

Kelly Gardner

“With the help of UAMS we’re moving forward and not slowing down a bit.” “Without the strong relationship I have with God, I have my doubts that I ever could’ve gotten through this,” said Myton, a guidance counselor at Parkview Arts & Science Magnet High School in Little Rock. “I feel like it’s my duty…


May 28, 2014

Back From the Brink

Kelly Gardner

John King half joked that he should be the poster child for UAMS. At a healthy 6 feet 4 inches tall, he doesn’t quite fit the mold, but he’s sure he wouldn’t be alive today if he hadn’t come to UAMS. Just a few months ago, the 62-year-old Bald Knob man’s substantial frame was slumped…


May 27, 2014

Unexpected Change of Plans

Kelly Gardner

Tickets were bought, reservations were made, an itinerary was planned and all that was left to do was say, “adios, America” and “hola, Spain and Portugal.” There was just that fateful routine check-up with her doctor in Shreveport, La., that was left to fit in before Mona Morgan and her husband, Eddie, jetted off to…


May 26, 2014

Changing Lanes

Kelly Gardner

Many Arkansans will recall the havoc wreaked by the icy winter of 2000. Herman Davenport of Little Rock could deal with power outages and slippery streets, but when the second storm of the season delayed the results of his prostate cancer biopsy, he struggled to keep his cool. “I will never forget it,” Herman said. “We…



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