CU Cancer Center News and Stories

Philanthropy is critical to the mission of the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Donors who are able to make gifts of any amount help CU Cancer Center members contribute to breakthrough research and improved patient outcomes. 

Greg Glasgow | May 31, 2023

Over the past several decades, doctors and researchers have gotten much better at detecting and treating cancer. A cancer diagnosis, however, is still often costly to treat, not to mention the physical and emotional toll that treatment can take. 

The best way to avoid a diagnosis altogether? Stop cancer before it starts.  

Greg Glasgow | May 26, 2023

Evelinn Borrayo, PhD, has made it her mission to eliminate cancer disparities in Colorado.  

Greg Glasgow | May 17, 2023

To start with, there was his usual schedule of national travel for his job as a Wall Street journeyman – he was always flying somewhere. Add to that moving to Castle Rock from San Francisco, plus a love for concerts and baseball games and whatever else life offers, and it’s no wonder that Lincoln Yersin was feeling run down.

But this run down? This exhausted? He went to see his primary care provider in San Francisco a few times, had a few tests, and the diagnosis was stress.

Rachel Sauer | May 16, 2023

Paul Herzegh’s lung cancer story began six years ago on a beautiful April morning, roadtripping back home to Boulder from visiting friends in Virginia. He was 68, in otherwise good health, and felt some small kinks in his chest.

Hardly any time later, he had a diagnosis: stage 4 adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that originated in the cells lining the outside of his lungs. At that point, he didn’t know much beyond “the conventional wisdom that 'lung cancer is a killer,’” he explained Saturday evening, emphasizing the air quotes because, well, the conventional wisdom was wrong.

Rachel Sauer | May 05, 2023

Thanks to the Colorado Cancer Screening Program at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, more than 4,000 people from medically underserved populations received colorectal cancer screening over the past two years — individuals who likely would not have sought the screening out on their own.  

Greg Glasgow | April 28, 2023

Cancer is a disease of ripples – from symptoms that precede a diagnosis to treatment, side effects, and goals for long-term survival. It can impact every facet of life, for the person who receives the diagnosis as well as the person who is their caregiver.

Rachel Sauer | April 27, 2023

When the PACT Act went into effect January 1, after being signed into law in August, many U.S. veterans were able to access benefits for an expanded list of health conditions presumed to be caused by exposure to toxic substances.

Rachel Sauer | April 14, 2023

Cancer patients younger than 65 who are discharged to a skilled nursing facility following hospitalization are less likely to receive cancer treatment and hospice care before death, new University of Colorado Cancer Center research shows.

Rachel Sauer | April 12, 2023

Whether they are coming from across the state, across the region, or across the country, more than 1,000 people each year arrive at the University of Colorado Cancer Center for treatment, surgery, or a second opinion on their cancer diagnosis.

Greg Glasgow | April 10, 2023

Testicular cancer is a highly treatable cancer that isn’t always easy to talk about.

Rachel Sauer | April 04, 2023

There’s a growing body of research supporting the satisfactions of gardening, from its positive impact as a mental health intervention to its association with improvement in cognitive function and reduction in stress, anger, and fatigue.

Rachel Sauer | March 28, 2023

Earlier this month, medical professionals, patient advocates, industry innovators, federal policymakers, and public health officials, including two members of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, gathered at the White House for the Cancer Moonshot Colorectal Cancer Forum.  

Greg Glasgow | March 16, 2023

For women with dense breasts, getting a mammogram to screen for breast cancer can be something of a double whammy. Not only is cancer more difficult to detect in dense breasts, but dense breasts also are a risk factor for developing breast cancer in the first place. 

Greg Glasgow | March 15, 2023

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and with the recent news that the disease is on the rise among people under 55, it’s more important than ever for people to understand the screening options for colorectal cancer.  

Greg Glasgow | March 08, 2023

About one in five people worldwide will develop cancer in their lifetimes and in 2020, the most recent year for which data are available, cancer accounted for nearly 10 million deaths worldwide.

Rachel Sauer | February 04, 2023

In addition to the research and clinical work she performs as a member of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, Swati Patel, MD, also just completed a one-year term as president of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer (CGA-IGC), an international professional medical organization dedicated to taking care of patients who may be at increased risk of GI cancer based on family history and genetics.  

Greg Glasgow | January 17, 2023

When it comes to treating cancer, doctors have many tools in their arsenal. For decades, cancer was treated with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation — broad tools that affect healthy cells along with the cancer cells they are meant to eradicate. 

Greg Glasgow | January 11, 2023

On January 2, tennis great Martina Navratilova revealed that she has been diagnosed with two unrelated cancers: stage 1 throat cancer and early-stage breast cancer. 

Greg Glasgow | January 04, 2023

For many people, receiving a cancer diagnosis may require learning a new vocabulary ­– terms that can be useful guideposts for defining the disease and its treatment.

Rachel Sauer | January 03, 2023

A newly opened endoscopy suite at Salud Family Health in Longmont highlights the importance of longstanding partnerships between the University of Colorado Cancer Center and community stakeholders in supporting underserved populations who otherwise might not receive vital cancer screening services.

Rachel Sauer | December 14, 2022

Two important numbers to keep in mind are that 50.5% of the U.S. population is female, and that cancer will account for more than 606,000 deaths in the United States this year, making it the second-leading cause of death.

Rachel Sauer | November 28, 2022

In the course of her research studying employment and cancer, Cathy J. Bradley, PhD, MPA, deputy director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, has heard from people diagnosed with cancer who would skip a chemotherapy treatment rather than skip work and risk losing their job.

Rachel Sauer | November 16, 2022

Xander Bradeen began his undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado Boulder planning to major in neuroscience as a pre-med student, the first in his family to pursue a college education. Then he learned about prairie voles.

Rachel Sauer | November 14, 2022

Corralling four research programs, 12 shared resources, a 28-member leadership team, and a $23 million grant is a huge job — but it’s one that Michaela Montour has performed at the University of Colorado Center with ease for more than 20 years.  

Greg Glasgow | October 31, 2022

Cancer becomes especially dangerous when it metastasizes — or spreads — to other parts of the body, including the brain. Breast cancer is more likely than many other cancers to spread to the brain, due in part to the large amounts of estrogen present in areas including the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala. 

Greg Glasgow | October 26, 2022

Jan Lowery, PhD, MPH, who started her career as a researcher at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, returned September 1 as assistant director for dissemination and implementation for the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement at the CU Cancer Center. In her new role, Lowery will lead efforts to develop, conduct, and disseminate implementation-focused projects in cancer prevention, early detection, and survivorship.  

Greg Glasgow | October 18, 2022

September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, a time for bringing attention to leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, Hodgkin’s disease, and other blood cancers.

Greg Glasgow | September 16, 2022

The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by the prostate gland. The PSA test is a blood test used to measure the amount of this protein found in the blood. Results are reported (ng/mL), which means nanograms of PSA per milliliter of blood. High levels of PSA have been found in men with advanced prostate cancer. 

Noelle Musgrave | September 02, 2022

Each year, about 27,000 women age 45 or younger are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Of those, about 4% are pregnant at the time of their diagnosis.

Rachel Sauer | August 27, 2022

Deaths from COVID-19 and drug overdoses grabbed a lot of the headlines in 2021, but recently released numbers from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment show that cancer was still a leading cause of death in the state, and the number-one cause of death for the 45–84 age range.  

Greg Glasgow | August 22, 2022

For many researchers, the end of a post-doctoral fellowship and entry into a junior faculty position can be a time without a map.

Rachel Sauer | August 12, 2022

After a 30-year, off-and-on battle with metastatic breast cancer, Australian-born actress and singer Olivia Newton-John died on August 8 at age 73. Best known for her role as Sandy in the 1978 movie musical “Grease,” Newton-John also hit the music charts with singles like “Physical” and “Magic.” 

Greg Glasgow | August 09, 2022

A cancer diagnosis can be difficult to work through in the best of circumstances, but factor in barriers related to language, insurance status, educational achievement, geographic location, income level, and more, and the cancer journey — everything from prevention and screening to diagnosis and treatment — can become nearly impossible to traverse. 

Greg Glasgow | August 05, 2022

Until 2007, about 1 in 20 lung cancer patients all had the same thing in common but did not know it.

Rachel Sauer | August 01, 2022

For people living with and beyond cancer, one of the most common and limiting side effects is cancer-related fatigue (CRF).

Rachel Sauer | July 29, 2022

Oncologists have many tools they use to treat cancer, and one of the most commonly used is radiation therapy. In use since the early 1900s, radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves — including x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, and protons — to destroy or damage cancer cells. The machine that delivers radiation therapy has a head that rotates 360 degrees, and patients lie on a special bench that swivels, allowing the radiation to be delivered from any angle.

Greg Glasgow | July 13, 2022

As they both deal with a stage IV colon cancer diagnosis, Kacie Peters and Erik Stanley are focused on living a normal, happy life with their son.

Rachel Sauer | June 20, 2022

Country music star Toby Keith has been battling stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, for the past six months, he announced Sunday on social media.

Rachel Sauer | June 14, 2022

Jimmy Guerrero’s first diagnosis was a possible stomach ulcer, because it seemed inconceivable that a 26-year-old would have colon cancer.

Rachel Sauer | June 13, 2022

Bringing with him more than 20 years of experience in gene therapy and personalized medicine, Hatim Sabaawy, MD, PhD, will step into the role of associate director of translational research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center on July 1.

Greg Glasgow | June 08, 2022

Molly the golden retriever was a fan of cookies. Whenever there was a plate of them nearby, she kept her eye on it, waiting for her chance to sneak one or five. She was a fan of water, too, even after she had surgery to remove her left front leg following an osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, diagnosis in April 2017.

Rachel Sauer | May 19, 2022

Among the many lessons collectively learned during the initial months of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic was this: The experience was uncharted psychological and emotional terrain. It wasn’t uncommon for people across the globe to express uncertainty about how to navigate new stresses and new emotions.

Rachel Sauer | May 16, 2022

 University of Colorado Cancer Center member Janet Kukreja, MD, assistant professor of urology in the University of Colorado School of Medicine, is taking part in this weekend’s Walk to End Bladder Cancer along with her office staff, fellow physicians, and even some of her patients. For this year’s “virtual” event, hosted by the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network to kick off Bladder Cancer Awareness Month in May, participants walk in their own cities at their own pace, sharing their progress with others around the country. 

Greg Glasgow | May 06, 2022

Michael Joseph Roark – Mike to his friends – met Mary Jo Dougherty in a ski fitness class taught by Anne Kashiwa at the former International Athletic Club in downtown Denver.

Rachel Sauer | May 05, 2022

This year, lung cancer will account for an estimated 130,000 deaths in the United States – approximately 25% of all cancer deaths. Among those deaths, people who are Black will be disproportionately represented.

Rachel Sauer | April 29, 2022

At first blush, the numbers aren’t great: Cancer patients who are covered by Medicaid tend to have later-stage disease and higher rates of mortality.

Greg Glasgow | April 13, 2022

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has once again recognized the University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center as one of the best cancer centers in the country. On March 31, the NCI officially renewed the CU Cancer Center’s “comprehensive” designation with a strong rating, the best ever received at the CU Cancer Center. The award recognizes the center’s strengths in basic, translational, clinical, and population science research, as well as leadership and resources devoted to community outreach and engagement and cancer research, training, and education.

Greg Glasgow | March 31, 2022

For so many years, Kelly Noonan prioritized a lot of elements in her life – her family, her career as a nurse, her friends, her responsibilities as a community volunteer.

Rachel Sauer | March 28, 2022

While conducting research for her doctoral dissertation, Channing Tate, PhD, MPH, spoke with 144 older Black adults about hospice care – what they knew about it, whether they’d consider it, what their experiences with hospice had been.

Rachel Sauer | March 25, 2022

Colorectal cancer, the third most commonly-diagnosed cancer in the United States (excluding skin cancers) and second leading cause of cancer-related mortality, is increasingly affecting people in their 20s and 30s, recently published research shows.

Rachel Sauer | March 23, 2022

When Myles Krick started his freshman year of college in fall 2021, he couldn’t help but look back to 15 years ago, when he received the brain cancer diagnosis that made his family worry he might not live long enough to go to college. 

Greg Glasgow | March 16, 2022

Dianne Primavera wouldn’t take no for an answer.  

Greg Glasgow | March 07, 2022

In normal human development, the SIX1 gene is critical for embryonic muscle development. After a person is born and as they mature, SIX1 is downregulated, or becomes less prevalent in cells.

Rachel Sauer | March 02, 2022

March is Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, and to get the latest information on the disease, we spoke with University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center member Elaine Lam, MD, FACP, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. 

Greg Glasgow | March 02, 2022

University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center researchers have been on the leading edge of developing new therapies for leukemia. One of the most recent breakthrough therapies has been the development of venetoclax, a B-cell lymphoma-2 inhibitor, that that has shown profound results for adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and has become a standard of care for patients with this disease all over the world.

Rachel Sauer | February 24, 2022

There were a lot of things Jim White thought he’d never do: stay in one place long enough to feel roots grow beneath his feet, meet the love of his life, have a child whose daily joy in discovering the world reignites White’s own joy.

Rachel Sauer | February 22, 2022

Even as exciting developments are happening in cervical cancer research, an estimated 14,100 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year.

Rachel Sauer | February 16, 2022

The University of Colorado Cancer Center is pleased to announce that Marie Wood, MD, has been named the medical director of the Cancer Clinical Trials Office (CCTO).

Rachel Sauer | February 11, 2022

On this World Cancer Day, the University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center looks back to earlier this week when President Biden reignited his Cancer Moonshot initiative, setting ambitious goals to “reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer — and by doing this and more, end cancer as we know it today.” 

Shelly Lange | February 04, 2022

When Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared January National Radon Action Month, he noted that about 50 percent of Colorado homes test at or above the guideline level at which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends remediation.

Rachel Sauer | January 20, 2022

CU Cancer Center member Neil Box, MD, separates fact from pseudoscience when it comes to protecting yourself from the sun.

5280 | January 05, 2022

In the past, molecular and cellular oncology research often began with the idea that cells are cells and proteins are proteins, and it didn’t especially matter who provided the sample.

Rachel Sauer | December 22, 2021

“Maybe this getting older thing just sucks and that’s how it is.”

Rachel Sauer | December 17, 2021

This was another exciting year for the University of Colorado Cancer Center, and we were able to share more than 80 stories spotlighting our members and their research. We also shared the cancer journeys of some of our patients.

Cancer Center | December 16, 2021

The University of Colorado Cancer Center is pleased to announce several leadership transitions that will support the center in its mission to overcome cancer through innovation, discovery, prevention, early detection, multidisciplinary care, and education.

Rachel Sauer | December 10, 2021

Sandra Luna-Fineman, MD, treats children and adolescents with cancer from around the U.S. in her role as a pediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, but she knows that children in low- and middle-income countries around the world need her help the most.

Greg Glasgow | December 01, 2021

At her lowest point, after hearing there wasn’t much more that medicine or science could do for her, Connie Walters asked her best friend and ex-husband, Abel, to stay with her overnight. She wasn’t sure she would wake up and she didn’t want to die alone.

Rachel Sauer | November 30, 2021

Lung cancer screening is recommended only for those who are at high risk for the disease — adults ages 50­–80 who smoke at least 20 packs a year — but even among members of that high-risk group, screening rates remain low, ranging from 5% to 20% of those eligible for the screening CT scan.

Greg Glasgow | November 15, 2021

It was just a cough – a nagging one, sure, but nothing too serious, Duane Cerniglia thought. Give it some time and it will go away.

Rachel Sauer | November 12, 2021

Janice Woodward was already a member of the club nobody wants to join — the cancer club, membership involuntary — when she got an irregular mammogram result in May 2019.

Rachel Sauer | November 08, 2021

The Association of Community Cancer Centers announced recipients of its 11th annual Innovator Awards.

Healio | November 06, 2021

Uncomfortable and possibly discriminatory situations are what keep many LGBTQIA+ community members from seeking health care on a regular basis.

Cure Today | November 05, 2021

The cancer diagnosis came at a time when it seemed as though everything was happening – he was only 37 and soon to become president of the Denver City Council; his three children were ages 4, 6, and 9; he had just run the BOLDERBoulder 10K.

Rachel Sauer | November 03, 2021

There are two things most people believe about lung cancer, says Jamie Studts, PhD, co-leader of the Cancer Prevention & Control Program at the CU Cancer Center: Those who suffer from it most likely caused it by using tobacco, and the prognosis for surviving the disease is poor.

Greg Glasgow | November 02, 2021

When a woman receives a breast cancer diagnosis, she may have many questions about her immediate future – the stage of the disease, what treatment she’ll receive, where it will happen.

Rachel Sauer | October 22, 2021

In a grim reminder of the toll COVID-19 can take even among those who are vaccinated against it, former Secretary of State Colin Powell died Monday of complications from the virus. His family said Powell, who was 84, was fully vaccinated against the disease.

Greg Glasgow | October 18, 2021

The first time Caley Kurchinski had to think about a double mastectomy, she was only 16. Her mother had died at age 36 from breast cancer, when Caley was 6. When she became a teenager, Caley’s family physician began telling her she needed to get genetic testing.

Rachel Sauer | October 15, 2021

The cancer survivorship journey can have many components, but one of the most important is regular exercise. Physical activity for individuals who have completed cancer treatment can build stamina, reduce anxiety, improve quality of life and physical fitness, and even improve survival outcomes.

Greg Glasgow | October 01, 2021

Actor Willie Garson was probably best known for his role as Stanford Blatch on “Sex and the City,” playing one of Carrie Bradshaw’s New York-savvy best friends.

Rachel Sauer | September 27, 2021

Evan Conant was one of the lucky ones. His stage I colon cancer was caught early, during a routine colonoscopy, and doctors at the University of Colorado Cancer Center were able to perform a surgery to remove the tumors entirely.

Greg Glasgow | September 14, 2021

The University of Colorado Cancer Center is at it again this year, gathering a group of 12 employees or members who will rappel 44 stories to raise money and awareness for Colorado-based cancer research. The Over the Edge event is put on by the Cancer League of Colorado (CLC).

Cancer Center | June 21, 2021

The recent decrease in the age recommendation for colorectal cancer screening came as no surprise to Chris Lieu, MD, associate director of clinical research at the CU Cancer Center. Like many cancer doctors around the country, Lieu has seen an alarming increase in recent years of cases of colorectal cancer in patients younger than 50.

Greg Glasgow | June 14, 2021

National Cancer Survivors Day, June 6, 2021, is a day to recognize cancer survivors, bring attention to the ongoing challenges cancer survivors face, and celebrate life. 

Cancer Center | June 01, 2021

One of the most difficult nights of Hank Baskett Sr.’s life was the night he told his wife he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Greg Glasgow | May 24, 2021

It feels odd to use the phrase “perfect timing” when talking about a cancer diagnosis, but that’s exactly how Tonya Quinn describes her experience being diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago.  

Valerie Gleaton | May 12, 2021

Bringing more than two decades of experience in the fields of population health and cancer prevention and control, Linda Cook, PhD, will join the University of Colorado Cancer Center in July as associate director of population sciences.

Greg Glasgow | May 03, 2021

For more than a year, a working group at the University of Colorado Cancer Center has been studying the many ways the aging process impacts cancer — including incidence, progression, and prognosis of the disease, therapeutic options and outcomes, and the psychosocial aspects of living with cancer.

Cancer Center | February 18, 2021

CU Cancer Center member Neil Box, PhD, is on a quest to decrease the deadly effects of melanoma.

Greg Glasgow | February 09, 2021

The global pandemic of 2020 has been a pivotal year for the health care industry. This year lead some CU Cancer Center members to shift their focus to learning more about COVID-19 while others continued their research on cancer. Whether the focus was on COVID-19 or Cancer this year showed how coming together as a community can make a difference. 

Cancer Center | December 28, 2020

Elissa Kolva, PhD, clinical psychiatrist and CU Cancer Center member, shares tips that might be helpful for caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cancer Center | November 25, 2020

Until you or a loved one are facing treatment for a cancer diagnosis, you may not realize the cost associated with treatment and doctor visits. Unfortunately, the cost is continuing to rise as new treatments are discovered and patients are responsible for more of those costs, even if they have health insurance coverage.

Cancer Center | November 24, 2020

Elissa Kolva, PhD, clinical psychiatrist and CU Cancer Center member, shares tips around self-care for a caregiver of a loved one with cancer.

Cancer Center | November 04, 2020

In the field of Molecular and Cellular Oncology (MCO), cells often arrive frozen to the lab and must be thawed quickly by diluting with culture medium. And so it’s fitting that, on a macro level, molecular oncology researchers themselves arrived frozen to the 2019 MCO Retreat, held Monday at 9:00am and 4 degrees Fahrenheit on the CU Boulder campus, where they were immediately thawed with coffee.

Garth Sundem | March 05, 2019

The day before Joel Rutstein planned to leave for a week-long trip to Hawaii with his wife, Barbara, and their grown children, an oncologist in Fort Collins gave Joel bad news.

Garth Sundem | January 03, 2019

The Association of Community Cancer Centers announced recipients of its 11th annual Innovator Awards.

UCHealth | August 10, 2017

After her brain cancer became resistant to chemotherapy and then to targeted treatments, 26-year-old Lisa Rosendahl’s doctors gave her only a few months to live. Now a paper published January 17 in the journal eLife describes a new drug combination that has stabilized Rosendahl’s disease and increased both the quantity and quality of her life: Adding the anti-malaria drug chloroquine to her treatment stopped an essential process that Rosendahl’s cancer cells had been using to resist therapy, re-sensitizing her cancer to the targeted treatment that had previously stopped working. Along with Rosendahl, two other brain cancer patients were treated with the combination and both showed similar, dramatic improvement.

Garth Sundem | January 17, 2017

The Association of Community Cancer Centers announced recipients of its 11th annual Innovator Awards.

9News | September 14, 2016

When Matthew Murray started experiencing some double vision after school during baseball practice his mother took him to be checked out by an eye doctor. They were told not to be too concerned unless his double vision became constant. Less than two weeks later during a double-header game, Matthew’s double vision would not go away.

Taylor Abarca | September 09, 2016

Even before Thomas (TJ) Pugh, MD, grew to 6’10″, he loved the sport of basketball.

Taylor Abarca | April 12, 2016

An investigator from University of Colorado Cancer Center is being recognized for his contributions to the battle against lung cancer.

Cancer Center | May 17, 2013