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Patient Stories

Stories of hope and healing from patients with brain and central nervous system tumors at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital.

A person in a hospital bed post-operation for brain surgery. Her head is clean-shaven and there are bandages around her head.

Patient’s ER visit turns into brain surgery, cancer diagnosis

After experiencing sudden vertigo spells, Jennifer White was diagnosed with a tumor in her cerebellum, the area of the brain that controls balance and coordination.
Cancer patient Hanna with doctors Dominique Higgins and Yasmeen Rauf in the lobby of the cancer hospital.

Ukrainian refugee seeks brain tumor treatment at UNC Health

Hanna was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, which required a highly skilled and experienced neurosurgeon and is an area of expertise for neurosurgical oncologist Dominique Higgins, MD, PhD.

Grateful patient works with lab team to find cancer therapies

David Hesmer is a volunteer in a UNC Lineberger lab, helping to further the study of glioblastoma, something he knows a lot about: he was treated for glioblastoma at the N.C. Cancer Hospital.