News

The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute ’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) continues the 2025 Community Conversations on Cancer series in June. The Road Ahead: Understanding a Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Exploring Treatment will feature a presentation from Ammar Sukari, M.D. , medical oncologist, member of the Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Team , member of the Molecular Therapeutics Research Program at Karmanos, and associate professor at the Wayne State University School of Medi...

For the first time, staff at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute held a moment of silence for #HAVhope Friday on June 6, to raise awareness about hospital and workplace violence. Violence in hospitals has become a pressing issue across the U.S. in recent years and poses a threat not only to medical staff but also to the welfare of patients. In 2022, there were more than 2.1 million nonfatal incidences and nearly 74,000 fatal violence-related injuries in the U.S., according to a research report rel...

Cinzia Caparso, Ph.D., RN, an assistant professor in the Wayne State University College of Nursing and a member of the Population Studies and Disparities Research (PSDR) Program at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute , has been named one of 12 national honorees for the prestigious 2025 Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Science Honor by the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR).  This annual honor recognizes early-stage investigators ...

Wei-Zen Wei, Ph.D., founding co-Chair of the Immunology Focus Group, member of the Tumor Biology and Microenvironment Research Program , and renowned faculty member at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine, has been honored with the appointment to the rank of Distinguished Service Professor. Dr. Wei, who is also the Herrick Endowed Chair of Cancer Research, is recognized for her extraordinary service outside her discipline and outside WSU that broug...

With advances in treatment and screening for earlier detection, oncologists have improved cancer survival rates dramatically. That is excellent news, but the surging number of survivors means it is increasingly important for providers to focus more diligently on what patients need to thrive after treatment. In 2022, there were more than 18.1 million cancer survivors in the U.S., and by 2032, there will be more than 22.5 million, spotlighting the need to focus more closely on survivor quality of life. Su...

Ina Levinson has been a family caregiver for her husband and cancer thriver, Jeff Levinson, and her elderly parents. Her husband was diagnosed 18 years ago with plasmacytoma and later with multiple myeloma. He continues to receive treatment under the care of Jeffrey Zonder, M.D. , hematologist, leader of the Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), and member of the Hematology Oncology MDT at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. Levinson sees Dr. Zonder at Karmanos’ Weisberg ...

The spirit of hope and support was palpable at the 13 th Annual Pink Out the Park, during the Strike Out Cancer Weekend. The decade-long partnership between the Detroit Tigers, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and McLaren Health Care welcomed thousands of fans, mostly sporting pink, in honor and celebration of the hundreds of attendees who have been affected by breast cancer. On Air with Tigers Radio “Check your boobs. Get a mammogram. I have cancer.” That simple but powerful message from a fri...

The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute held its first All Cancer Game, part of Strike Out Cancer Weekend, on Friday, May 23, 2025, at Comerica Park in collaboration with McLaren Health Care and the Detroit Tigers. The current leading team in the American League played its division rival, the Cleveland Guardians, during an evening commemorated as the All Cancer Game, where thousands gathered to support the fight against cancer. Cancer survivors who were patients at various Karmanos locations throughou...

  Within a year, Patrick Yambrick’s prostate-specific antigen (PSA) number more than doubled.  That number can be an indicator of possible cancer. His doctor immediately referred Patrick to Radiation Oncologist Dr. Hesham Gayar . “My mother, my sister, and my mother’s five brothers all died of cancer,” Patrick said. “I am 81 and have been blessed with good health, so I said, ‘Let’s go to the doctor and get it done.’” Instead of having traditional photon, or x-ray, radiation, Dr. Gayar, who is ...

WXYT 97.1 FM The Ticket “Get a mammogram.” That simple but powerful message from a friend’s Facebook post felt like a sign for Lisa Priestap. She had noticed a lump in her breast, and at 45, decided it was time to schedule her very first mammogram. That decision changed everything. Not long after, she was called back for diagnostic imaging, and in January 2022, Priestap was diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer. She told her story on WXYT 97.1 FM’s The Ticket ahead of this year’s Pink Out the Par...