Department of Pediatrics > Medicine on the Midway

Attacking Cancer from Every Angle   
Cancer has been a deadly riddle without a solution for centuries. The desperation to find a cure led to unusual theories from visionary scientists, such as Leon Jacobson, MD, at the University of Chicago in 1943. 
By Rob Mitchum, with contributions from Don Reneau and Susan Chandler

University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center   
Founded in 1973, the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) is one of two National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in Illinois. The UCCCC received its NCI designation because of its research in three major areas: laboratory, clinical and population-based research. 

Mapping the Genes that Help Cancer Drugs   
Cancer treatment is a tightrope. The goal of chemotherapy, radiation or surgery is to kill malignant cells, while leaving healthy cells intact. But the modern tools of oncology are not perfect and cancer patients often must suffer through severe side effects as physicians work to calibrate the perfect balance between therapy and toxicity.
By Rob Mitchum and Susan Chandler

Finding Answers through Clinical Trials   
Enormous strides have been made in treating cancer over the last several decades. But that success is conditional, with remission and cures seen in too small a percentage of cancer patients. As a result, the search for better cancer drug therapies remains intense.
By Rob Mitchum

Advanced Approaches to Treating Breast Cancer   
When a woman first feels a lump in her breast or learns that there are irregularities in her mammogram, she fears the worst. It’s a worry realized by one in eight women who develops breast cancer in the United States. With advances in treatment, though, women have more options than they might have thought.
By Cheryl L. Reed

Getting a Clearer Picture of Breast Cancer  
Once a week, oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, pathologists and radiologists all crowd into a conference room to view breast images on an 8-foot screen. It is the cornerstone of the University of Chicago Medical Center’s breast cancer program, where specialists outline what they believe is the best course of treatment for each patient.  
By Cheryl L. Reed

Transforming Health on the South Side   
For Eric Whitaker, it’s personal. "I wrote on my application to Pritzker in 1986 that I wanted to become a doctor to improve health on the South Side," he recalled.  
By Stephen Phillips

On the Trail Less Traveled: Researchers Track Down the Most Elusive South Side Residents in a Pilot Study about Health Care   
The sign on the door reads: Private Property. No Trespassing. Inside, a plastic strip secured with masking tape leads a path through the dark, twisting hallway. The trail ends at a bulletproof window. There, a hotel clerk raises her eyebrows at the red clipboard in Ramya Iyer’s arms and the Nextel phone box in Billy Jackson’s hands.  
By Cheryl L. Reed

Life After Cancer is a New Focus for Research   
As if beating cancer wasn’t enough, cancer survivors face an even greater risk for health problems, such as heart disease, infertility, sexual dysfunction, depression, substance abuse, suicide, lack of insurability, pulmonary disease, anxiety, and poor continuity of care.  
By Greg Borzo

Saving a Cancer Patient’s Baby   
Jennifer Sowacke had been trying for two years after the birth of her second child to get pregnant. The day she discovered she was five weeks pregnant, she also felt a lump on her breast. 
By Emily Stone

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