Michigan Medicine

03/23/2026

An extraordinary new story in Sports Illustrated details a prominent U-M student athlete's experience with bipolar disorder, and his dream of making it to the NFL in this year's draft.

He gave his U-M psychiatrist permission to discuss his care, in hopes that it will help others understand the importance of getting help and receiving effective treatment:

The NFL draft prospect and native Ugandan opens up about the burdens he has carried and a recent diagnosis that refocused his attention on going pro.

03/23/2026

Linda Rossi was initially diagnosed with lung cancer. Four years after her initial treatment, a rogue cancer cell developed into a brain tumor.

Rossi moved from California to Michigan to seek treatment at U-M Health and, with the help of Drs. Kalemkerian and Lawrence, is now cancer-free.

Read more: https://michmed.org/DQRY3.

We are fighting to preserve access to our care for patients like these. Learn more: uofmhealth.org/BCBSM.

03/23/2026

Pancreatic cancer can be difficult to treat and scary for patients and their family. That’s why seeking out the best care is critically important for those newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“As research advances our understanding of pancreatic cancer, we’re doing better at taking care of patients. Still, given what we know about pancreatic cancer, we want to make sure we have a treatment strategy from the beginning for every patient,” said Evan Glazer, M.D., Ph.D., a pancreatic cancer surgeon at the Rogel and Blondy Center for Pancreatic Cancer.

If you or a loved one is newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, read Dr. Glazer's tips on finding the right treatment center. https://michmed.org/bQ2yK

03/23/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Eugene Chen and his laboratory team from our University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center!

Their work on stopping deadly aortic aneurysms just made it to the "Elite Eight" of the virtual tournament of science, thanks to votes from many supporters.

Someday, patients may benefit from the team's discovery in mice about the role of triglycerides in aneurysm formation, and the potential impact of drugs to prevent damage to the lining of the body's largest blood vessel.

But right now, the team needs your vote!

Vote by Wednesday night here: https://michmed.org/PYeqr

Congratulations to the other five U-M teams that STAT editors also chose for the 2026 STAT Madness bracket, especially the team led by Dr. Eva Feldman, whose work on ALS biomarkers made it to the Sweet Sixteen of Science.

Read about all of U-M's contestants here: https://michmed.org/JDjqg

03/21/2026

Hail to the ! Our new poll of people over age 50 finds that 1 in 3 of people in this age group take care of at least one other adult with health needs.

But a sizable percentage don't feel they have enough support, face financial stress, or don't know about community services that could help them out.

Learn more about our national and Michigan-specific findings here:

1 in 3 people over 50 act as caregivers to adult family members or friends, but a sizable percentage don't feel like they have the support they need, or don't know about or use programs like adult day care or respite care that could help them.

03/20/2026

Thank you, Charlie, for using your voice to advocate for patients.

Charlie’s story:

"Why our academic Medical Center is different? I'll offer you a personal story that might make it clear. I have Hemophilia B, a bleeding disorder which blessedly does not affect my daily life very much, but when I have trauma or surgery, it comes into play.

A few years ago, when it was relatively clear that I had appendicitis, I chose to drive past several hospitals to get to the nearest academic hospital. Why? Not so much because of the surgical expertise needed for an appendectomy, but more because I needed the medical expertise to manage my bleeding. I was able to receive the care I needed, with my bleeding managed by a specialist who had deep knowledge of hemophilia treatment, and had a great outcome. And while the other hospitals I bypassed to get to the academic hospital undoubtedly had many good people working there, they did not have the depth of expertise to manage my hematologic situation in such a timely way. Here at UM Health, that doctor who knows how to manage my hemophilia is Dr. Suman Sood – and should I need surgery again for anything, she’s the one I’ll want providing oversight of my care!

What about the cost? At the time of my appendectomy, the medications they had to give me to manage my clotting drove the cost of my procedure up by about $40,000. So instead of my appendectomy costing closer to $10-12,000 (which was closer to the average at the time), mine cost just over $50,000. Now, an irresponsible reporting of this could say "see, the academic hospital cost five times what the non-academic hospital did!" But a more responsible reporting would recognize that in this case, "an appendectomy is not an appendectomy" and that the reason for that higher cost was clearly justified by this patient’s need and the specialty knowledge brought to the bedside. So when an academic medical center costs more, the question can fairly be asked “is there a value to the patient of that cost?” In my case, the answer was clearly and unreservedly, yes.

In my career, I have often taught graduate students and administrative trainees to be discerning in their analysis of data. I hope that our colleagues at BCBS, who I believe to be good people at their core, are willing to be that discerning, and consider these important complexities.”

We are fighting to preserve access to our care for patients like Charlie. Learn more: uofmhealth.org/BCBSM.

03/20/2026

Our clinical nurse specialists play an essential role in the compassionate care we deliver to patients.

Michigan Medicine was well-presented at the 2026 Annual Conference of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, last week in San Diego.

Several team members presented posters and two received awards: Nikki Taylor won the Innovator of the Year award, and Sarah Fuhrmann won Preceptor of the Year. Congratulations and Go Blue!

03/20/2026

At age 31, Andrew Sweeney was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer with metastases in his liver.

After initial surgery and chemotherapy, Sweeney and his U-M care team made history.

Learn how Sweeney became first patient in Michigan to receive a liver transplant as part of treatment for colon cancer: https://michmed.org/vQnqz.

We are fighting to preserve access to our care for patients like these. Learn more: uofmhealth.org/BCBSM.

03/19/2026

AI FOR MRI: Researchers at Michigan Medicine, led by neurosurgeon Dr. Todd Hollon, are using artificial intelligence to change how neurological conditions are diagnosed.

They developed Prima, an AI-model that can read and diagnose a brain MRI in seconds. The new technology accurately detected conditions and determined their severity, outperforming other state-of-the-art AI models.

“We believe that Prima exemplifies the transformative potential of integrating health systems and AI-driven models to improve health care through innovation,” Hollon said.

Click this link to learn more about Prima: https://michmed.org/mD3w2

03/19/2026

“I drive two hours each way for my appointments at U-M, and I would drive even farther if it meant I could keep receiving care from this team.”

For one patient, care at Michigan Medicine meant traveling hours for appointments, sometimes while navigating multiple complex health challenges at the same time.

While undergoing fertility treatment, she also experienced a serious knee injury that required specialized orthopaedic surgery. After an ER visit, she contacted several offices in her hometown but struggled to find a team that could see her quickly. Asheesh Bedi, MD and Michigan Medicine’s orthopaedic team was able to step in and schedule surgery in a timely manner so she could receive the urgent care she needed.

Through it all, she says her care team provided expertise and hope during a very difficult chapter of her life.

“I would drive double the hours if it meant I could keep receiving care at Michigan Medicine.”

Access to specialized care can make a life-changing difference for patients and families across our state.

We are fighting to preserve access to our care for patients like these. Learn more: uofmhealth.org/BCBSM.

03/18/2026

Facts matter. Michigan Medicine has offered to extend our current contract with Blue Cross. Anything beyond that, we would earn through better access, better quality, and cost performance. Even under our proposal, Blue Cross would continue paying us below other insurers in Michigan.

Learn more about our work to preserve access to care for patients: UofMHealth.org/BCBSM

03/18/2026

It's tournament time for University of Michigan basketball players - and for U-M scientists!

Two of our research teams need your vote to advance in the competition run by STAT. Vote here: https://michmed.org/PYeqr