Duke Health

At age 38, Brooks Bell thought she was too young to have cancer, so she was reassured when doctors attributed blood in her stool to internal hemorrhoids. But she could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. After several doctors’ appointments, she was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer. Thanks to surgery to remove a portion of her colon, chemotherapy, and personalized cancer testing at Duke, today she is cancer-free and on a mission to get more young people tested for colorectal cancer.

It’s hard for 43-year-old Allison Parker to remember a time when she didn’t depend on glasses or contact lenses to correct her nearsightedness (myopia). As an adult, she hoped that LASIK eye surgery could improve her vision, but it was not possible due to the severity of her myopia. Then she learned that implantable collamer lens (ICL) surgery can permanently correct myopia. After undergoing the specialized procedure at the Duke Eye Center, Parker can now drive, work, parent, and see the world clearly, without the hassle and expense of corrective lenses. 

If you need to lower your cholesterol but cannot take a statin because of muscle aches or other side effects, you may want to try an alternative. New research shows that bempedoic acid can lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke without causing muscle pain. According to Duke cardiologist John H.P. Alexander, MD, MHS, “statins are the cornerstone of cardiovascular event prevention, but if you can’t take a statin, you now have another good option.”