In this end-of-year update, head and neck cancer survivor Don Jackson and his wife Ann reflect on eight more months of survivorship. Their story shows how community, proactive research, and hope can continue to influence outcomes long after a stage 4 cancer diagnosis.

Two fathers turned the experience of caring for a child into lifelong missions to support families facing pediatric alopecia and childhood cancer. This story explores how nonprofit leadership and peer-to-peer communities like Smart Patients help parents and children navigate fear, uncertainty, and treatment decisions together.

Ever wonder what it’s really like to record your first podcast? Hear from three Smart Patients community members who did just that—and shared every surprise, tech hiccup, and empowering moment behind the mic. Get inspired and explore our community-built podcasting toolkit.

Even during illness, uncertainty, and the heaviness of the holiday season, moments of joy still emerge. In this Smart Patients community story, members share how small, everyday delights—nature, connection, laughter, and gratitude—help them cope with chronic illness and serious health conditions. Together, these shared moments remind us that we are more than our diagnoses, and that joy can still find us, one small moment at a time.

Smart Patients and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network hosted an Ask the Expert session with Dr. Efrat Dotan, GI Medical Oncologist at Penn Medicine during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Participants opened up about the symptoms that get missed, the genetic risks families don’t hear about soon enough, and the treatment decisions that keep them up at night.

For Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week, we’re sharing a firsthand story from someone who has lived with Crohn’s disease for more than 30 years—highlighting the physical, emotional, and dietary challenges that December can bring.

GERD and acid reflux often peak during the holidays, when heavier meals and disrupted routines can trigger painful flare-ups. In this Smart Patients story, community members share what GERD really feels like and what helps.

Unpaid caregivers shoulder staggering physical, emotional, and financial burdens that often go unseen — yet they are essential to patient health and outcomes. Smart Patients surveyed nearly 300 caregivers to hear from them what they want the world to understand. This summary presents their data, their words, and how they link to evidence-based research.

Stomach cancer affects patients from ages 22 to 89, and this story explores how people across generations navigate symptoms, treatment decisions, and daily life after diagnosis. Drawing on real Smart Patients conversations and data from ASCO 2025, it highlights emerging therapies and hope for gastric cancer care.

In honor of Antibiotic Awareness Week, this story examines how repeated UTIs, long-term bladder issues, and multiple antibiotic courses pushed one patient into antibiotic resistance. This is why understanding antimicrobial resistance and everyday stewardship practices is essential for anyone navigating chronic infections.

A Smart Patients’ question—“Should I have surgery now or wait?”—sparked an insightful discussions in the pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) community. This story, shared for World Neuroendocrine Cancer Day, explores how patients navigate uncertainty, timing, and treatment choices for this rare form of pancreatic cancer.

After successful cancer treatment, an unexpected diabetes diagnosis left one patient searching for answers and support. In the Smart Patients Diabetes Community, they found understanding, practical advice, and hope.

Not sure what to say to someone in hospice? You’re not alone. In this Smart Patients story, I Am…Learning to Say the Right Words, members share compassionate ways to offer comfort. Published in honor of Hospice and Palliative Care Month, this piece explores how presence, gratitude, and quiet love can mean more than perfect words.

When patients share their lived experience, medical education becomes more than instruction — it becomes insight. This practical guide from Smart Patients shows how to integrate patient voice into continuing education so learning is more human, relevant, and effective.

A Smart Patients conversation about parotid gland swelling revealed something bigger: the importance of listening to your body — and not settling for “don’t worry.” Here’s what patients and studies agree on about lymphoma risk in Sjögren’s.

Drawn from real Smart Patients conversations, this story shows how community wisdom, small tips, and words of encouragement can become part of the process of learning to inhale, exhale, and heal together through uncertainty.

At ASCO 2025, groundbreaking breast cancer research introduced new targeted therapies, precision treatments, and long-overdue recognition for rare subtypes like inflammatory breast cancer. I Am…Looking to Research for Hope connects these advances to patient stories to show how science, compassion, and community are changing what’s possible in breast cancer care.

This story captures the often-overlooked middle of recovery where progress feels slow and persistence is everything. It honors the physical therapists who walk beside patients in that uncertain space, turning steady effort into renewed strength and hope.

From quiet symptoms to complex treatments, liver cancer patients share stories of resilience. Discover strength in the Smart Patients community.

This story is written in the first person, but it is not the story of one woman alone. It is a composite drawn from the voices of many Smart Patients members who have shared what they wish they had known about ovarian cancer. Their collective wisdom offers guidance, honesty, and hope for anyone beginning this journey.