Duke Health Blog
Cancer Care
Read about the innovative approaches taken by Duke doctors to treat cancer -- and the people whose lives have been affected.
New Treatment at Duke Stops Lung Cancer that Spread to the Brain
Leslie Saunders was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, and then it spread to her brain. Following treatment with a newer drug called tarlatamab, her brain ...
After 50 Years of Smoking, Durham Man Quits, Thanks to Duke Smoking Cessation Program
Dave Warthen smoked for 50 years. In September 2025, he joined Duke’s smoking cessation program “Quit at Duke.” And thanks to the team’s expertise and individu ...
Should You Be Screened for Lung Cancer?
Lung cancer screening with low-dose CT is covered by Medicare and private insurers for people who smoke or have smoked in the past. There’s a reason. Lung canc ...
Woman Beats Breast Cancer in Her Thirties, Twice
Alexandra (Ali) Butler was living in Wisconsin when her husband gave her a hug and felt a lump in her armpit. Fortunately, the breast cancer was caught early. ...
New Drug Renews Hope in People with Pancreatic Cancer
A pill called daraxonrasib has been shown to increase survival rates in previously treated people with metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to a study publi ...
Pregnant with a Phyllodes Tumor, Woman Moves Family for Care at Duke
Jessica Clarke was pregnant with her second child when she noticed a small lump in her breast. It grew larger while she waited a month for an ultrasound. After ...
No Evidence of Disease Thanks to New Pancreatic Cancer Drug Daraxonrasib
Brad Dugai, 55, underwent chemotherapy and radiation to treat his pancreatic cancer, but the tumors kept coming back. At Duke Health, he joined a clinical tria ...
Family History Leads to Surveillance at Young Age and Finds Early Breast Cancer
Bailey Geason was 27 when doctors spotted cancer in her right breast. She wasn’t shocked; when she was a college freshman, genetic testing confirmed she carrie ...
Adaptive SBRT Modifies and Targets Prostate Cancer in Real Time
Two decades after Patrick Schultea underwent treatment for prostate cancer, his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels began to rise, signaling that the cancer ...
Clinical Trial and Mismatched Cord Blood Transplant Help Toddler Beat Aggressive Leukemia
Sophia Ramirez’s family was told nothing more could be done after two stem cell transplants performed at a hospital near their South Carolina home failed to cu ...
Tarlatamab (Imdelltra®) Offers Hope When Treatment for Small-Cell Lung Cancer Stops Working
A new type of immunotherapy is giving hope to people with advanced small cell lung cancer when chemotherapy and other immunotherapies are no longer effective. ...
Pluvicto® Extends Life of NC Man with Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Ned Steele has tried many treatments in the 18 years he’s been living with prostate cancer, but none has worked better than PLUVICTO®. Thanks to the efforts of ...