Latest News, Events & Insights

A lung cancer treatment plan is not the same for every patient. Even two people diagnosed with lung cancer at a similar time may receive very different recommendations based on the type and stage of their cancer, certain characteristics of their tumor, and their overall health.Understanding what goes into a lung cancer treatment plan can help patients feel more informed about their care and the questions they may want to ask their oncology team.

Cancer clinical trials play an important role in advancing cancer care and may also be a treatment option for eligible patients. However, misconceptions about how they work can make patients hesitant to consider participating. Clinical trials help researchers evaluate new treatments, new combinations of existing treatments and other approaches that may eventually become part of standard cancer care.For patients, however, the words "clinical trial" can sometimes bring uncertainty. Will I receive a placebo? Does participating mean there are no other treatment options? Will I be treated like a test subject?Understanding what clinical trials actually involve can help patients and their families have more informed conversations with their care teams.

Not long so, CAR-T cell therapy was available only at a handful of major academic medical centers. For patients who needed it, that often meant traveling far from home, staying near a treatment facility for weeks, and navigating a system that felt distant from the community-based care they were used to. For many, logistics alone were a barrier.That picture has changed significantly. CAR-T therapy is reaching more patients, in more places, than ever before. And for patients treated within community oncology practiced like The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, that shift has real, practical meaning.

Liver cancer surveillance can help detect cancer earlier in people who are at higher risk, often before noticeable symptoms develop. Unlike some cancers that may cause warning signs in their early stages, liver cancer can develop quietly. Symptoms may not appear until the disease has progressed, which is one reason regular monitoring can be important for certain people with chronic liver disease or other risk factors.Liver Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to understand not only the disease itself, but also who may be at increased risk and when regular surveillance may be appropriate. Knowing your personal risk factors and talking with your healthcare provider can help determine whether ongoing monitoring should be part of your care.

Advances in breast cancer care are making treatment increasingly personalized, giving care teams more information about individual cancers and which therapies may be most effective. Today, a breast cancer diagnosis can involve much more than identifying the location and stage of a tumor. Physicians can also evaluate the biological and molecular characteristics of the cancer to help guide treatment decisions.During breast cancer awareness month, conversations often focus on screening and early detection. Those remain critically important, but awareness can also include understanding the progress being made in how breast cancer is diagnosed, treated, and managed. From genetic testing and targeted therapies to immunotherapy and survivorship care, continued advances are helping shape a more individualized approach to breast cancer.

This September, I am honored to join the gynecologic oncology team at The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, serving patients and families throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.A cancer diagnosis can be one of the most difficult experiences in a woman's life. My goal is to walk alongside my patients every step of the way, ensuring they feel heard, understand their options, and feel empowered to make decisions about their health.

Getting a referral to an oncologist is a moment that stops most people in their tracks. Even if you have been through a lot medically, walking into a cancer specialist's office for the first time feels different. The stakes feel higher, the vocabulary is unfamiliar, and there is often a lot of information coming at you quickly.The good news is that a little preparation goes a long way. Knowing what to bring, what to ask, and what to expect can help you feel more in control of a situation that can otherwise feel overwhelming. And when you walk in prepared, your care team can spend less time gathering background information and more time focused on you.This guide is for anyone heading into their first appointment at The Center, whether you are the patient or the caregiver sitting in the chair next to them.

When most people hear the word cancer, they picture urgency. A diagnosis, a treatment plan, and a race to get ahead of it. For many cancers, that picture is accurate. But for blood cancers, the story is more varied than most people realize, and understanding that variation can change how patients and families experience a diagnosis from the very first conversation.Some blood cancers are aggressive and require treatment to begin within days or weeks. Others are slow-moving by nature, and the right approach is not to treat immediately but to watch carefully, sometimes for months, sometimes for years, before any intervention is needed. Both of these paths are legitimate. Both are evidence-based. And both require a care team that understands the difference.September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month. It is a good time to talk honestly about what blood cancer actually is, why it does not follow a single script, and what patients and caregivers can expect when they walk through the door at The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.