CU Cancer Center News and Stories

Cancer, the author Susan Sontag wrote, is “the disease that doesn’t knock before it enters.”

It’s the scary C-word that a large and continually growing body of research demonstrates has effects far beyond its physical symptoms. A cancer diagnosis, especially one made in the later stages of the disease, often impacts a person’s mental and emotional health in ways that can be unexpected and broad-reaching.

Rachel Sauer | June 05, 2023

Benjamin Brewer, PsyD, is a University of Colorado Cancer Center investigator and health psychologist at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Program, providing mental health and counseling services for highly immunocompromised patients who are often in the hospital four weeks or more. For these patients, catching COVID-19 could be deadly and the climate of uncertainty adds another layer of stress to an already challenging experience. Here we talk with Dr. Brewer about his patients’ new worries and about how our health system is adapting to meet the mental health needs of cancer patients during COVID-19.

Cancer Center | April 06, 2020

Miguel and Bonita (Bonnie) Birge first met in high school, when Bonnie’s brother introduced them. The casual start became a lifetime commitment: they celebrated their 20^th wedding anniversary in late June. Many others share their Aurora home, including four dogs, four cats and two snakes, which Miguel says are just as companionable and worthy of affection as the furry four-legged friends.

Cancer Center | September 25, 2019