In November 2020, retired Chief Master Sergeant Patrick McCrocklin visited the medical center at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., where he assumed he would be treated for a hernia. He actually had two hernias, but doctors also found two mysterious spots on his liver. MRI and PET scans revealed stage 4 colorectal cancer that had spread to his liver, and he was given just six months to live.

In a battle with a rare and aggressive cancer called “double-hit” lymphoma, James “Milton” Wilkins struck first – or rather, his grandson did, with an accidental elbow to Wilkins’ abdomen. This led to a speedy diagnosis that gave him a fighting chance.

Nearly 32 years ago, Jeana Nesmith Russell was beginning her dream career as a nurse in one of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s hospital units while pursuing her graduate degree. Little did she know that her life was about to change forever.

Medical experts have been trying to discover links between diabetes and cancer for decades. Some research suggests that the diseases may share underlying causes, or that one disease may influence or cause the other.

November is pancreatic cancer awareness month, when health care professionals call attention to a disease that affects more than 55,000 people in the United States each year. Pancreatic cancer is an especially deadly cancer because of the way it silently spreads before being detected.

Like most 17-year-olds, Alison Griffitt was a carefree high school senior excited about her upcoming prom. She wasn’t a sun worshipper, but Griffitt admits that she would pop into a tanning salon before pageants, dances, and other special events.

Colorectal cancer has a high cure rate – especially when caught early – yet it remains the third deadliest cancer for men and women in the United States. It doesn’t help that many people avoid getting a colonoscopy, which is by far the best way to find colorectal cancer early or prevent it altogether.