"Our family went through 12 years of living through cancer," said Sam's mother, Suzie. “With each diagnosis and recurrence, we stopped everything. We never knew what was around the corner."

Thanks to CAR T-cell therapy, a revolutionary new treatment for advanced blood cancers in children and adults, Sam’s future looks bright. He was one of the first 100 children in the country to participate in clinical trials of the promising gene cell therapy.

Despite chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant, a couple of clinical trials, and precision radiation therapy, Scott McIntyre's lymphoma was gaining on him. Then something really good happened: His team at UChicago Medicine received the go-ahead for CAR T-cell therapy. McIntyre received the therapy in May 2016.

McIntyre is now more than a year out from treatment, with no sign of any remaining cancer. As he told his home town paper, the South Bend Tribune, he's "'a walking miracle' and wants to tell the world about it."

(From left) Erin Nahorny, Sammy Nahorny, and Dr. Susan Cohn. The Nahornys recently visited UChicago to share their experience with MIBG therapy, an innovative treatment for neuroblastoma.  

Plans to build at the University of Chicago a Pediatric Cancer Data Commons (PCDC), a globe-spanning database focused exclusively on pediatric cancers, recently got a boost from Sammy’s Superheroes Foundation. The Columbus, NE-based foundation committed $400K over four years to the database project, which is overseen by UChicago pediatric oncologists Susan Cohn, MD, and Samuel Volchenboum, MD, PhD, MS. 

Charlie Barriball, 66, of Portage, IN, the first patient in Chicago to receive the HIFU treatment for prostate cancer  

On September 11, a University of Chicago Medicine surgical team led by Arieh Shalhav, MD, performed the first high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedure in the city of Chicago for a patient with prostate cancer.

During the procedure, HIFU directs high-frequency sound waves that heat up and burn off targeted prostate tissue where the small tumors are located. This has little effect on nearby tissue containing healthy cells and can be focused to just treat the area that contains the cancer. The process minimizes side effects such as impotence or incontinence that are associated with radical prostate surgery.

Nancy LeBreacht (center), Midwest market and community relations specialist at Whole Foods, presents a check to Cancer Center Director Michelle Le Beau (in red), UCCRF Executive Director Mary Ellen Connellen (in white), and Women's Board President Kristi Nuelle (left) and member Jennifer Rhind. 

The Holy Rollers hoist their trophy.