Cancer Patient Stories

Patient Stories about cancer

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.


December 15, 2023

Retired Attorney Writes Book about Myeloma Journey, Exceptional Care

Nathan Tidwell

Retired attorney James Jaquess

Retired attorney James Jaquess can’t say enough about the care he received at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Myeloma Center. In fact, UAMS features prominently in his book “Multiple Myeloma: A Journey to Remission.” Jaquess is being treated at UAMS as well as at the Emerald Coast Cancer Center in Fort Walton…


Former Pediatrician Feels ‘Wonderful’ a Year and a Half after CAR T-cell Therapy at UAMS

Linda Satter

Wendy Bowen was just 38 years old and in her fourth year of working as a pediatrician in Jackson, Tennessee, when severe chronic fatigue forced her to retire in March 2003. She had been diagnosed six months earlier with multiple sclerosis (MS), and it seemed to be rapidly taking its toll. Then one morning about…


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…


January 11, 2023

Denver Broncos Defensive Tackle D.J. Jones Highlights UAMS Myeloma Center in My Cause, My Cleats Campaign

Marty Trieschmann

A professional football player with the Denver Broncos team stands with his mother and two nurses

As part of the National Football League’s (NFL) annual My Cause, My Cleats campaign, Denver Broncos defensive tackle D.J. Jones donated a pair of custom cleats to the Myeloma Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Since 2016, participating NFL teams and players customize footwear with designs…


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…



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