Duke Health

At just nine years old, severe headaches and eye pain caused young Brayden Bardonado to spend most days in bed. That changed when Duke Health surgeons identified and corrected the rare cause of his symptoms. Today, Brayden’s pain is gone, and his mother, Deanna Semanoff, sings Duke’s praises. “I have my son back. It's such an incredible feeling,” Brayden’s mom said. “Duke saved my son’s life.”

A new type of immunotherapy is giving hope to people with advanced small cell lung cancer when chemotherapy and other immunotherapies are no longer effective. While not a cure, clinical trials have shown that tarlatamab can help people live longer with fewer side effects. “Tarlatamab has been a significant step forward in treating advanced small cell lung cancer,” says Duke thoracic medical oncologist Cameron Oswalt, MD.

In September 2025, Louisiana sheriff’s deputy Nick Lege was suffering from heart failure and liver damage when he arrived via medical flight to Duke University Hospital. Two months later, Lege underwent a combined heart-liver transplant, which is only offered at a few hospitals in the Southeast. Today, 46-year-old Lege credits Duke for saving his life. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to go to Duke and get this kind of high-class care,” Lege said. “It means so much to me.”