UW Carbone Cancer Center

The Many Faces of Hope

Our UW Carbone Cancer Center Community

Read more patient stories, find groups, and learn of the many ways you can connect with others from the cancer community.

Our UW Carbone Cancer Center

Each year, the UW Carbone Cancer Center cares for more than 20,000 cancer patients. Every one has a unique and often inspirational story that reflects a quiet courage, determination and incredible strength.

Alyssa Brewer, a pancreatic cancer survivor, shares her remarkable story that, like so many patient stories, is one filled with hope in the face of incredible odds.

Alyssa Brewer: Against the Odds, A Pancreatic Cancer Survivor Story

Alyssa Brewer was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 37, a disease often considered terminal. Five of the first six doctors she spoke to initially treated her like a lost cause. When she needed a risky surgery to survive, she turned to the UW Carbone Cancer Center, which she credits with saving her life. She was determined to survive, and with the help of her husband, changed her lifestyle and diet. Thirteen months later she showed no discrete tumor mass.