Patient Stories

Stan Adler had more tumors than his doctors could count. He beat the odds with high-dose IL-2 therapy.

Howard Ebert is a pancreatic cancer survivor. After being diagnosed and treated several years ago, Howard is now cancer free and leading a full and healthy life.

"Stage IV." As always, Dr. Sherman didn't mince words. I was 51 years old and already several weeks into chemotherapy treatments for pancreatic cancer when I finally asked him exactly what stage my cancer was. Of course I knew the diagnosis — and that it wasn't all that early, but I certainly didn't expect to hear it hadn't been caught as early as I had hoped and assumed. I had never had any health issues at all — ever. My grandparents lived well into their 80s and 90s and my parents are in their 80s now and for the most part healthy and vibrant. And really I felt fine...it all just seemed so implausible and surreal.

A former heart and double-lung transplant patient reunites with the medical team that saved his life.

Auto islet transplant surgery gives Tammie Feldman a life free from diabetes

Over 20 years ago, conjoined twins Carmen and Rosa Taveras were brought to Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital NewYork-Presbyterian to be separated in a groundbreaking surgery. In 2013, Rosa Taveras - one of the formerly conjoined twins - gave birth to her own child, Elijah.

After Ralph Cheney was treated for gallstones and pancreatitis at his local hospital in Monticello, New York, a CT scan revealed a shadow on his pancreas. His doctor suggested waiting six months and repeating the CT scan after the pancreatitis cleared up. Ralph's wife, Mariann, thought otherwise, and after additional research, the couple came to The Pancreas Center for successful diagnosis and treatment of Ralph's pancreatic cancer. Five years later, Ralph is a survivor who hopes his story serves as inspiration for others battling pancreatic cancer."

Elle Haley – a 14 year old liver transplant recipient – received a portion of her father's liver in a groundbreaking fully laparoscopic adult-to-adult living donor transplantation.

Although I am not usually one to share intimate details in a public setting, I feel that it is important to be able to share a message of hope and optimism. The day after my sister's wedding in Jerusalem, my sister told my father that he didn't look well, to which he replied with a joke about feeling sick from paying the wedding expenses. However, we all then noticed that my sister was right. Once home, my Dad scheduled a doctor's appointment, which led to an exam, which led to a test, which led to the terrible diagnosis: pancreatic cancer. Fast forward to chemotherapy followed by surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia with Dr. Chabot.