In The News

A small surgical robot at the International Space Station completed its first surgery demo in zero gravity last week, and one of the surgeons tasked with the remote robotic operations on simulated tissue was Houston-based Theodoros Voloyiannis, M.D., FACS, FASCRS, a colorectal surgeon at Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists. 

Scans are an essential part of cancer treatment and survivorship care, so recognizing and managing scanxiety is essential to help patients get the care they need. Shaun P. McKenzie, M.D., FACS, Texas Oncology Surgical Specialists–Round Rock and South Austin and Antonio Nathan Villamor III, M.D., colorectal surgeon, Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists–Pasadena, explain that while colonoscopies often have a reputation for being stressful, painful, or embarrassing, this common procedure is usually quick and can be done under different types of anesthesia.

Carl G. Chakmakjian, D.O., FACP, medical oncologist at Texas Oncology–Gatesville, Mexia, and Waco, joined his longtime cervical cancer patient Amy Faulkner on Central Texas Life with Ann Harder to discuss Amy’s treatment journey over the past eight years. Amy, a high school teacher, shares how she balanced school and treatment, how her family was her best support system, and how her cancer treatment even inspired her daughter to become a nurse.

Along with remarkable advancements in life-saving cancer care, medical researchers also are making major progress in mitigating the potential impact some cancer treatment can have on the heart. James Wilder, M.D., of Texas Oncology–Palestine Cancer Center, Paris, and Pittsburg, shares how cancer treatments affect the heart and how innovations like cardioprotective medications, advanced imaging techniques, precision medicine, biomarkers, and proton therapy work to mitigate this impact.

In a test that featured half a dozen surgeons from across the United States, includingTheodoros Voloyiannis, M.D., FACS, FASCRS, a colon and rectal surgeon at Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists–Webster, a miniature robot created at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln successfully completed a surgical simulation aboard the International Space Station. It is the first surgical robot aboard the space station and one of the first times remote surgery tasks have been tested in space.

Texas Center for Proton Therapy has been serving cancer patients in Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond for eight years, providing leading-edge patient care by not only ridding patients of cancer, but maximizing their quality of life during treatment and beyond — even decades later. 

Rebecca L. Wiatrek, M.D., FACS, Texas Oncology Surgical Specialists-Austin Central and Round Rock joined KTBC-TV’s (FOX, Austin) “HealthBeat” segment to discuss stomach cancer, in light of country singer Toby Keith’s recent death by this disease. According to the American Cancer Society, stomach cancer accounts for 1.5% of all new cancer cases diagnosed each year in the U.S., making this disease fairly rare, yet one to know the signs and symptoms for.

Amy Faulkner, 48, an honors and AP teacher at China Spring High School, spoke with KWTX-TV (CBS, Waco) about her cancer treatment journey and how she balanced life as a high school English teacher, never calling in sick a single day. Her oncologist, Carl Chakmakjian, D.O., FACP, Texas Oncology-Gatesville, Mexia, and Waco, shared more about Amy’s treatment and how well she responded, emphasizing how tough she is. 

When it comes to the heart and cancer treatment, balancing the effectiveness of cancer therapies with the preservation of heart function is essential to improving the long-term cardiovascular health of cancer patients. Karen Cohen, M.D.,Texas Oncology–Austin Central and Round Rock and Andrew Jackson, M.D., Texas Oncology–The Woodlands, share how healthcare providers and cancer patients can make informed decisions when it comes to matters of the heart.

Arlene E. Garcia-Soto, M.D., FACOG, gynecologic oncologist at Texas Oncology–Plano Prestonwood, joined Univision Austin to share advice on cervical cancer prevention and early detection, discuss patients' treatment options, and dispel common myths and misconceptions.