A diagnosis of cancer is always frightening. For Ted and Marianne Colanduno, it was double the anxiety. Within the span of three years, both husband and wife received this dreaded news. But, thanks to dedicated cancer experts and world-renowned treatment, the New Jersey couple has conquered their diseases. Theirs is a story of hope for others.
In 2009, Ted was undergoing a routine hernia repair when surgeons found tumors on his upper bowel that had spread. Ted turned to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, a nationally recognized program for aggressive surgery and months of follow-up care.
Only three years after Ted’s diagnosis, Marianne received news that she too had cancer—triple negative invasive ductal carcinoma, a very aggressive breast cancer. The couple once more chose the best care they could find—at Cooper University Health Care.
Now, both Ted and Marianne are free of cancer, and both are able to have all of their follow-up care at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, right here in South Jersey.
“When I heard the news that MD Anderson Cancer Center care was coming to New Jersey, I looked at my wife with a huge grin–this will be the best thing for cancer patients in our region,” said Ted.
Today, Ted and Marianne are enjoying life and even recently have purchased a vacation home in Maine. “We are living life to our fullest,” Marianne says. “We have been through a lot in the past few years, and our family has too. We are hopeful for the future and want to make the best of what is yet to come.”
To learn more, please visit MDAndersonCooper.org.