News, Patient Stories and Blog

UKanQuit Celebrates 2024 Tobacco Treatment Champions

Each year, the program honors healthcare professionals from across the health system and The University of Kansas Cancer Center for their exceptional commitment to promoting tobacco cessation and improving patient health.

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours

In recognition of the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday, some of The University of Kansas Cancer Center's offices will have modified hours on Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29.

KU Cancer Center Investigators Honored for Excellence in Clinical Trial Enrollment

The KU Cancer Center-MCA team received the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP)'s Platinum Certificate of Excellence and was named a top 20 NCORP site for exceptional achievement in use of a Clinical Trial Scr...

Study Finds Opt-Out Treatment Helps Smokers Quit, Even Those with Low Motivation

People who smoke cigarettes and automatically receive help to quit are more likely to succeed, even if they aren’t fully motivated at first. A new study led by researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center found that an opt-out approach, wher...

Dr. Koestler Appointed Assistant Director for Shared Resources

In this role, Dr. Koestler will work closely with Matthew Mayo, PhD, associate director for Shared Resources, to oversee and enhance KU Cancer Center’s scientific shared resources and core facilities, which offer advanced instrumentation and tools to...

Harlan-Williams named Associate Director for Education

Lisa Harlan-Williams, PhD, associate professor of Cell Biology and Physiology, has been appointed associate director for Education at The University of Kansas Cancer Center.

Remembering Jeff Reene

During his tenure at KU Cancer Center, Jeff worked tirelessly to build relationships between KU Cancer Center, The University of Kansas Health System and Kansas lawmakers. These efforts culminated in a significant milestone in 2012 when the cancer ce...

New Study Aims to Improve Bladder Cancer Treatment with High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C

Researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center have secured a $3.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to study high-dose intravenous Vitamin C for treating muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This type of cancer, affecting 25% of bl...

Patient stories

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Second Opinion Cancer Diagnosis Saves Life of Chief of Police

In January 2019, after experiencing severe back pain for several months, Darren McLaughlin was at work when he was taken to a nearby emergency room. He was having trouble breathing and his pain was debilitating. Darren, who is chief of police in Merr...

Treatment Far from Home Helps Woman Beat Leukemia

Margie Harper lives near New Orleans, Louisiana, but it was doctors at The University of Kansas Cancer Center in Kansas City who gave her a second chance at life. In 2018, Margie was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a form of blood canc...

100th Proton Therapy Patient Extols Her Positive Treatment Experience

Posterior fossa ependymoma. Most people have never heard these words because they describe a rare type of brain tumor, affecting only about 13,000 people in America, most of them children. Stylee Gray certainly never expected to hear them. Yet in J...

Cancer Survivor Brings Awareness and Hope to Her Community

Yolanda Irvin is a woman on a mission. Using her personal experience as a testament to the lifesaving power of a cancer second opinion, Yolanda is determined to bring healthcare education, accessibility and hope to her Kansas City community. Yoland...

Nebraska Prostate Cancer Patient Travels to Kansas for Proton Treatment

When facing a cancer diagnosis, people seek the most innovative and effective treatments available. Sometimes that means traveling to distant medical facilities, adding the anxiety of being hundreds or thousands of miles from home to an already stres...

Woman with Metastatic Breast Cancer Fights with Newest Therapy

Dawn Wheeler was an active 50-year-old going about her day when she received a text from her older sister. “She texted because she didn’t think she’d be able to get through a phone call, but she wanted to let me know she’d just been diagnosed with br...

Breast Cancer Survivor Says Women Must Ask Questions, Advocate for Themselves

Angela Garrison was in the best shape of her life. And although she wasn’t worried, Angela always had regular recommended cancer screenings, including an annual mammogram, and got a clean bill of health. Despite going to the same imaging center for y...

For Lisa Webb, Life Goes on Even During Proton Therapy Treatments

Lisa Webb is praying that a pencil-thin beam of light will stop the stealthy tumor that is stealing her sight. In May, Lisa was among the first patients to receive proton treatment at The University of Kansas Cancer Center’s Proton Therap...

Blog

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Trainee Member Spotlight

Dr. Katy Swancutt discusses her journey from veterinary medicine to cancer research.

Groundbreaking Developments in Gynecologic Cancer Care

By Andrea Jewell, MD, FACOG, gynecologic oncology specialist

Choosing Your Prostate Care Team

By William Parker, MD Urologic surgeon Choosing a care team for your prostate cancer can be as personal a decision as buying a house or getting married – and we understand that. When someone comes to see me about surgery, I know that...

Breakthroughs in Brain Cancer Research

Q&A with Neuro-oncologist Dr. Tolga Tuncer

Trainee Member Spotlight

Kafayat Yusuf, MS, studies the link between inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.

Breaking Barriers in Ovarian Cancer Detection

Dr. Diane Mahoney’s passion for patient care and dedication to women’s health fuels her research.

Driving Progress in Cancer Treatment

Radiation oncologist Dr. Xinglei Shen discusses the latest clinical trials and importance of patient-centered research.