A Routine Pre-Op Exam Uncovered a Silent Threat and Got One Beloved Professor Back to the Classroom
For more than 45 years, Karl Hoffman has dedicated his life to education. A lifelong New Yorker who was raised in the Bronx and now calls Queens home, he has spent decades shaping young minds—from serving as a science department chair at a local high school to his...
What It’s Like to Participate in a Clinical Trial: One Cancer Patient Tells Her Story of Hope
It’s that time again. In less than two hours, Ellen Nissenbaum must leave her office in Washington, D.C., where she works for a nonpartisan research and policy institute. She needs to catch the train to New York. There’s the usual rush to finish everything she needs...
This Research Scientist Has Lived With MS for 20 Years. Here’s How He Has Remained Hopeful and Productive
Scott Mellis, MD, PhD, has lived with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) for more than 20 years under the care of doctors at The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis at Mount Sinai. It has not always been easy. He has one message for...
Stroke Patient Saved by Quick Clot Retrieval Using Minimally Invasive Procedure
One Friday last October began like any other for Yohannes Melaku, MD, 54. The Mount Sinai intensivist and nephrologist was visiting his patients in the hospital’s ICU when a sudden wave of nausea hit him. As he walked to the restroom, his left leg felt unusually...
He Was Cured of Cancer at Mount Sinai Two Decades Ago. Now This Actor’s Cancer Experience Informs His Latest Stage Role
Actors often call on their own experiences when developing a character for the stage. But few have the depth of understanding that 21-year head and neck cancer survivor Jay Russell brings to the role of Caesar Rodney in the musical 1776, playing at Paper Mill...
She Didn’t Think Much of the Pain in Her Jaw, But She Was Having a Heart Attack: Doctors Say Don’t Ignore Your Symptoms
When Jessica Rodriguez, 55, experienced sudden, severe jaw pain one evening, she assumed it was related to recent dental work. But as the pain worsened overnight, she trusted her instincts and sought emergency care—a decision that saved her life. At Mount Sinai...
My Story: A Mother Expresses Gratitude as Her Son Thrives Following a Heart Procedure as a Newborn
When their son Salvatore was born in 2023 at a hospital in northern New Jersey, Kaitlyn Romano, his mother, and her husband both felt an overwhelming surge of joy and love, emotions they had been anticipating for months. Holding his tiny body, they marveled at how...
My Story: A Doctor Becomes a Cancer Patient
Shari Brasner, MD, has been an obstetrician/gynecologist at Mount Sinai for more than three decades. She has always put her patients first, no matter what it took. But in the fall of 2020, she became a patient. Unexpectedly, she was diagnosed with a rare gynecologic...
Acclaimed Vocalist to Perform After Mount Sinai Saves His Life—and Voice—From Cancer
About a decade ago, Broadway musician Johannes Schwaiger noticed a hoarseness in his voice, which he initially dismissed as allergies. A visit to a doctor that spring identified the real culprit—a tumor in the back of his throat. The subsequent care Mr. Schwaiger...