Part I of “Human-Interest Stories at Duke Cancer Institute” Series
This columnist’s dad visited his son during the latter’s two confinements at Duke University Hospital during his treatment at its Cancer Institute. During the visits, he would place a Chicago White Sox baseball cap beside the bust of William G. Anlyan, M.D., for several minutes. He is the former Duke Chancellor, after whom Duke Hospital’s North Tower (circular in design and 11 floors in height) was named.
This writer always puts the hospital temporary visitor’s ID on the cap’s visor. The photograph of said bust, with said baseball cap beside it, can be viewed at this link.
Some fellow visitors, patients, and medical staff would ask this writer whether he hailed from Chicago. He replied that he is a resident of Los Angeles County, California. But the Sox cap is the official baseball cap of Pope Leo XIV, who is a native son of Chicago. And the cap is meant to express to people living with cancer the Vatican’s concern and prayers for the sick, especially those who have cancer. And maybe help develop miracle cures at the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI).
This columnist purposely wore Pope Leo XIV’s favorite baseball cap on his trip to/from RDU Airport in North Carolina, accompanied by his wife. We arrived at our son’s residence the day before he would start his cancer treatment. Our stay was to help primarily care for our son during his cancer treatment, which was capped (pun intended) by a nearly six-hour surgery last April 24. The surgery was apparently very successful. Our son’s treatment consisted also of 30 radiation treatments, MRI, blood, and other medical tests — all done in 14 weeks. The first X-ray was done on January 22, the day after our arrival.
The treatment and surgery at the DCI went fine. Our son is now undergoing physical rehab at home and reports periodically to the DCI for medical monitoring. And post-operative check-ups.
Perhaps Pope Leo XIV’s Sox baseball cap indeed helped in working a medical miracle. Hopefully, our son will live as long as, or longer than, the present pontiff remains the head of the Vatican and the global Catholic Church. Perhaps someday, will papal historians attribute the wearing of Pope Leo XIV’s Sox baseball cap as the pontiff’s first miracle as a “living saint”?
This columnist decided to write a series about Duke’s Medical City and its DCI. He intends to tell not only what systems and procedures his son’s treatment involves. Now, the patient, who had to use a wheelchair during the treatment, can walk with the aid of a cane. The medical appointments and treatments took place in a span of 14 weeks. We returned to Los Angeles, CA, on May 12, 2026. We probably witnessed another medical miracle at DCI during said period.
This series of stories will revolve around new friends and acquaintances that this columnist met during his son’s trips to Duke University Hospital and other medical buildings. Hopefully, this series may be published as a third volume of a series of books about “Cancer/Medical Moonshot”.
