Cancer Patient Stories

Patient Stories about cancer

November 22, 2024

Back on Top: Gary Evans Climbing Mountains After Lung Cancer

Marty Trieschmann

Gary Evans is back outdoors doing what he loves after successfully being treated for lung cancer at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

The view from the 1,011-foot summit of Pinnacle Mountain is spectacular, and Gary Evans does his best to get there as often as he can. But after a lung cancer diagnosis in January 2023, Evans wasn’t sure he would get to the top of his favorite mountain ever again.


October 25, 2024

Just in Time: Genoa Mom Grateful for Lifesaving Visit from UAMS MammoVan

Marty Trieschmann

Breast Cancer Survivor Lyndee Braley in the Healing Garden at the UAMS Winthrop P.Rockefeller Cancer Institute

A 45-foot van in the parking lot of your child’s elementary school might seem an unlikely location for one of the most important medical exams of your life. It was ideal for Lyndee Braley. The busy mother of three from tiny Genoa, Arkansas, population 972, had just turned 40 when she saw a notice on…


April 19, 2024

Fort Smith Retiree Heading to Disney World after Successful Proton Therapy for Brain Tumors

Marty Trieschmann

Female caner patient Malinda Larey standing in hallway of Proton Center

In November 2023, Malinda Larey, 67, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, was all set to jump on the retirement travel bandwagon when she was unexpectedly diagnosed with atypical meningioma. Meningiomas are tumors that grow from the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Patients can have a range of symptoms — from none to severe seizures,…


January 19, 2024

Arkansan Sees Advanced Cancer Disappear with Experimental Drug Offered at UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

Marty Trieschmann

Dr. Michael Birrer speaks with a patient during a clinic visit

A Little Rock man with resistant kidney cancer who underwent experimental immunotherapy in Phase 1 Clinical Trials at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute has experienced a complete remission.


September 8, 2023

‘Everything Got Better,’ after Coming to UAMS, says Leukemia Lymphoma Patient

Marty Trieschmann

a large family posing for a photo on the beach

By the time Thomas Wages arrived at UAMS on February 15, 2022, he had been through one cancer diagnosis and 13 types of intensive chemotherapy. He was 70. The active father of four was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) in 2008, devastating news that came during one of the happiest times of his life….


April 7, 2023

“I Have More Compassion for Patients,” Says UAMS Nurse and Colon Cancer Survivor

Marty Trieschmann

a nurse standing in front of a hospital building

John Reed, RN, is on the front lines of cancer. As a nurse in the UAMS Endoscopy Lab, he spends about 50 weeks a year helping patients through colon cancer screening procedures, mainly colonoscopies. But after a routine doctor’s appointment in 2020, Reed became the patient. “I felt fine, but my iron levels were really…


March 24, 2023

From Alaska to Arkansas: A Cancer Survivor’s Journey

Marty Trieschmann

family standing in front of graffiti

For throat cancer survivor Shalonda Michelle, there are exactly 3,815 miles between being sick and being healthy. It’s the distance between Fairbanks, Alaska, where her medical journey began, to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, where she finally found healing. Michelle’s harrowing experience began in 2010. She was…


February 3, 2023

104 and Cancer Free

Marty Trieschmann

patient standing with her doctor

UAMS patient treated by James Suen, M.D., is one of the oldest living cancer survivors in Arkansas   A favorite pillow in Maddie Upton’s Camden, Arkansas, home reads, ‘I’m so far up the hill, I’ve started up the next one.’ At 104, there is no old age joke she hasn’t heard, and she shows no…


November 28, 2022

UAMS Lung Cancer Survivor Beats the Odds

Marty Trieschmann

UAMS Lung Cancer Survivor in the Healing Garden of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute in Little Rock, Arkansas

About 25-30% of patients worldwide with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer die in less than three months. But with talented doctors, advances in treatment and a bit of luck, some patients beat the odds. John Pertuis, 62, is a member of this rarified group of lung cancer “long” survivors. With help from the UAMS…


April 8, 2022

Daniel’s Story: From UAMS Lymphoma Patient to Be a Part of the Cure Walk Coordinator

Marty Trieschmann

UAMS Be A Part of the Cure Walk Coordinator, Daniel Frazier, talks about his experience being treated for cancer at the very place he now works.

Imagine you’re 23 and just landed your first promotion at your dream job. All is right with the world. Now imagine being diagnosed with lymphoma at the same time. For UAMS special events coordinator, Daniel Frazier, cancer was not part of the plan. “Whatever plan I thought I had, a cancer diagnosis was nowhere on…



Next page