In the fall of 2005, Dana Ferguson’s ex-husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The two were both cell biology professors at the University of California, and shared custody of their two young children. Ferguson (who asked that her real name not be used) took time off from work to care for her ex and to accompany him to doctor appointments. Within 2 months of his diagnosis, he died. Then, in January 2006, just weeks after his death, Ferguson herself was diagnosed with cancer.
At first, she didn’t tell anyone about her own illness. “I couldn’t tell my kids. My god, they just lost their father,” she says. But when she decided to get another medical opinion, Ferguson reached out to colleagues in cancer departments. “This is the thing scientists benefit from. They always have contacts.” She got second and third opinions, which contradicted her first physician’s assessment that the disease ...
