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Betsi and Tod Waldron with their daughter, Emily. This photo was taken after Betsi completed her treatment for breast cancer in 2013.
(Photo: Emily Waldron)

Couple Faces Cancer Again After Nearly Four Decades

Nearly forty years after Tod Waldron was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma as freshman at the U of I, he says the most difficult part was talking about his cancer with his girlfriend (now wife), Betsi and his parents.“I was pretty nonchalant about it at the time, because I just didn’t know enough,” said Tod, “but my parents were from a generation that didn’t discuss cancer.

University of Illinois researcher working on cancer drugs in a lab
Credit: Christine Herman

U of I Researchers Discover Cancer-Killing Drug

Chemistry professor Paul Hergenrother identified a molecule that appears to cause many cancer cells to self-destruct. This week marks the start of a clinical trial on the potential new drug that has shown promising results when tested on lab animals with cancer. If it is found to be safe and effective in humans, the new drug may improve prognoses for patients with the most aggressive forms of brain cancer and other forms of the disease.

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