Sponsored - The following content is created on behalf of City of Hope Phoenix and does not reflect the opinions of Gray Media or its editorial staff. To learn more about City of Hope Phoenix, visit CityOfHope.org/phoenix.
GOODYEAR, AZ (City of Hope) - Cancer. It's one of the most terrifying words your doctor can say. City of Hope, one of the foremost cancer centers in the country, wants to replace the inherent fear the word cancer inspires with something everybody needs. Hope.
There are more than 200 kinds of cancers, and they all start the same way. A cell inexplicably goes awry.
"Sometimes cells go bad," explains Dr. Alan Bryce, a Medical Oncologist and the Chief Clinical Officer at City of Hope in Goodyear. "They're no longer growing and dying the way they're supposed to, but rather they're growing out of control. If they grow too large and out of control, then they start to cause problems in our body."
As Dr. Bryce said, healthy cells are supposed to die and be replaced by new cells. When cells "go bad," they don't die but continue to grow "out of control" and spread, crowding out the healthy cells. And the effects can be devastating.
The type of cancer depends on what kind of cell is out of control. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., followed by prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute. Here in Arizona, where sunshine is abundant and outdoor activities are a way of life, skin cancer gets lots of attention.
And then there are blood cancers. They're not as well known. Many people would be hard-pressed to name a blood cancer if asked, but about 4,000 Arizonans are diagnosed every year. According to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, one person is diagnosed with a blood cancer every 3 minutes. By the time you're finished reading this article, two people will have been diagnosed.
Blood cancers can affect anybody at any age. The main types of blood cancers are leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.
Leukemia starts in bone marrow, which is in the core of most of your bones.
"The bone marrow is a factory where red cells, white cells, and platelets all grow," Dr. Bryce explained. With leukemia, it's abnormal white blood cells that make it difficult for your healthy blood cells to function properly.
Lymphoma starts in a part of your immune system called the lymphatic system. You've probably experienced swollen lymph nodes on the sides of your neck when you've had an infection like a cold or the flu. But there are lymph nodes throughout your body, which means lymphoma can start anywhere.
Myeloma attacks your plasma cells. Those are the ones that produce the antibodies that make your immune system work.
Each cancer comes with a set of treatments and protocols. But City of Hope doctors don't treat diseases. They treat people.
Let's back up a minute to your first inkling that something might not be right in your body. The signs can be subtle. Symptoms of blood cancers, including fever, night sweats, weight loss, pain, and enlarged lymph nodes, don't necessarily point to blood cancer on their own. They can be caused by any number of conditions. That's why it's essential that you talk with your doctor about any symptoms you may be experiencing.
"If your doctor is suspicious of a blood cancer, they're going to order additional testing," Dr. Bryce said. "They might order a biopsy. They might order scans or even a bone marrow examination."
If your tests indicate blood cancer, your doctor will refer you to a specialist called a hematologist. They deal with blood disorders. Dr. Tibor Kovacsovics is a Hematologic Oncologist and the Medical Director of Leukemia at City of Hope Phoenix. He was integral in establishing City of Hope Phoenix's leukemia program. If you receive a blood cancer diagnosis, you want him on your team.
"There was a critical need in the Phoenix area for more high-quality hematologic cancer care," Dr. Kovacsovics said when he joined City of Hope Phoenix in April 2023. "I came to City of Hope to help fill that need and be able to provide vital care for underserved populations."
"Bone marrow transplant is a mainstay for the treatment of blood cancers," Dr. Bryce said. "We give high doses of chemotherapy to kill the cancer, and then we can give you your own cells back to help repopulate your bone marrow with healthy cells."
City of Hope is one of the pioneers of this treatment. Having performed more than 19,000 bone marrow transplants over the past 50 years, it is the nation's leading cancer hospital network for this therapy.
Some of those bone marrow transplants were done at City of Hope's hospital in Goodyear. The transplant program there goes back more than two years.
City of Hope isn't just focusing on the people who need them right now. Its research teams at the Translational Genomic Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope, are working behind the scenes for the people who will need City of Hope down the road.
"All of that research is happening right here in the state of Arizona," Dr. Bryce said. Because of that, Arizonans are the first to experience the benefits of that research.
"For all the progress we've made, the good news is that progress is accelerating," Dr. Bryce said. "We've developed new tests that rapidly turn around genetic information about leukemia. [We get results] in just days when previously, it would have taken weeks."
When you're in the fight of your life against cancer, time is of the essence. Days matter.
Thanks to its extensive research and innovation, City of Hope specializes in highly personalized treatments for blood cancer patients. They are also developing new ways of finding cancers at their earliest stages, when they are most treatable, even curable.
"People have more treatment options than ever because of City of Hope and the research they do," longtime Phoenix resident Dr. Marfa Holland said. "When my father died of leukemia years ago, medical oncology had just become a specialty. A diagnosis like his was pretty much a death sentence."
"City of Hope has changed that in ways we never thought possible back then," she continued. "Their advances in testing, diagnosis, and treatment of cancers like leukemia are astounding. City of Hope gives patients their lives back. More than that, they give families the priceless gift of more time with their loved ones."
City of Hope is one of the foremost cancer centers in the world.
"Our program is renowned for its range of specialists, and thanks to the depth of their expertise in a wide range of cancers, we can take on rare or complex cases deemed untreatable at other facilities," explains CityofHope.org.
Those treatments come from laboratory breakthroughs made by City of Hope's own researchers, including those in Arizona. City of Hope doesn't rely on other labs, studies, and trials. They are on the front lines of the fight against cancer and other life-threatening diseases. And their outcomes speak for themselves.
"Compassion is at the heart of our approach," CityofHope.org says. "We care for the whole person, not just the body, so your life after cancer can be rich and rewarding."
Dr. Bryce, Dr. Kovacsovics, and their teams are integral to making that happen and to achieving City of Hope's vision of conquering cancer a reality.