News: Featured Story

  The phrase “lightning never strikes twice” means little to Thomas Brewer of Charlotte, Tennessee, because for him, it did — once in 2000 and again in 2017. The “lightning” in Brewer’s case was cancer — first, esophageal; then, colon. For some, developing a secondary cancer — not a spread or recurrence of a first […]

  When James Goldenring, MD, PhD, talks about the landscape of the stomach, he sounds a bit like a real estate agent: this is a desirable neighborhood, this one is a bit sketchy, and by all means, steer clear of this area. In the case of the stomach, these “neighborhoods” are collections of different types […]

  Claudia Barajas knows health disparities in the Hispanic/Latino and African-American communities will not be resolved simply by having patients come to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC). To address those disparities, she must go to them. Barajas is a community health educator who leads the Healthy Communities Program, offering culturally appropriate cancer prevention education and information […]

  Instead of undergoing more than a month of radiation therapy for prostate cancer, Phillip Perry finished his treatments in just five days. “The process was quick and I was able to carry on with my normal activities each day,” said Perry, a 53-year-old flight attendant from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, who enjoys travel photography. He […]

  Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) has 343 full-time equivalent nursing and ancillary positions, and one administrator responsible for their work. She is Anna Rodriguez, MSN, MHA. “What I really like about the leadership role is problem-solving, taking complex issues and developing solutions with the team,” said Rodriguez, who became associate nursing officer of VICC in […]

Tuya Pal, M.D., has spent much of her life trying to unravel scientific mysteries. As a little girl she was already learning, competing and moving fast. The child of first-generation immigrants who moved from India to Canada where her father earned a scholarship to study engineering, Pal was a competitive swimmer who also loved to […]

During a career that spans more than half a century, Harold “Hal” Moses, M.D., pioneered an entirely new research field aimed at suppressing tumor growth and helped build Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) into one of the nation’s leading cancer centers.  Moses, who will turn 80 in February 2018, has closed his lab and retired to […]

The wait gave Latonya Drumwright a premonition. It was supposed to be a quick visit, something she could get done during her lunch hour on a beautiful March day when the daffodils seemed brighter than sunshine. Now she sat under the glare of a fluorescent light with the uneasy inkling that this mammogram would not […]

David Chism, 42  Assistant Professor of Medicine  Education: B.A., Georgetown University, M.Sc., Tulane University, M.D., University of Tennessee  Research area/medical specialty: Clinical research in genitourinary oncology with a focus in bladder and kidney cancer, medical oncology.  When did you join VICC and why did you choose to work here?  January 2016. I chose to work here because […]

Don Cox didn’t intend to quit smoking. He enjoyed lighting up. A cigarette helped him relax, socialize, figure out a problem or just have a moment to himself. His hand felt empty without one.  “Every year, my doctor would say ‘You got to quit smoking.’ I just let it go over my head,” Cox said.  […]