Entertainment Resources
Cancer on TV: Fox-TV’s “House”

Topic: Biopsy, liver cancer
Original Air Date - October 30, 2007: “Mirror, Mirror“

When Taub finds lesions on a patient's liver, House and his team suspect either liver cancer or an abscess and perform a biopsy. Brennan does the biopsy and discovers black pus, which he concludes is caused by a fungus. Brennan's diagnosis is incorrect, however. The patient actually has an infection caused by exposure to pig feces.

For more information on biopsies and other ways to diagnose cancer, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/overview/page7

For more information on liver cancer, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/liver/

Topic: Brain cancer
Original air date - October 23, 2007: “Guardian Angels“

When a patient comes to the hospital after suffering hallucinations and a seizure while working in a mortuary, House's fellows suspect a tumor on the brain's temporal lobe. However, CT scans do not find a tumor. Instead, chemicals in moldy bread the patient had eaten caused the symptoms.

For more information on brain cancer, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/brain/

Topic: Melanoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Original Air Date - October 9, 2007: “97 Seconds“

House believes that a patient with spinal muscular dystrophy who fainted while crossing a street in his electric wheelchair may have paraganglioma, a type of tumor that often occurs in the head or neck and is usually benign. The patient also begins having trouble swallowing. House believes that the trouble swallowing comes from the tumor's location in the neck, while the fainting was caused by the tumor pressing on a nerve. However, further tests show that the patient does not have a tumor in his neck but that he has black specks on his lymph nodes. Because the affected lymph node receives waste from the patient's right eye, House concludes that the patient has melanoma in his eye. Melanoma is a cancer of the pigment cells, and although it is best known as skin cancer, it can also occur in the pigment cells that give the eye's iris its color.

The patient refuses treatment for the cancer. However, House's fellowship applicants drain liquid from the patient's lungs and discover that the liquid is clear rather than bloody, which indicates that the patient does not have cancer. Ultimately, the patient dies and an autopsy reveals that he had threadworms, which he had picked up on a visit to Thailand. This had been House's first diagnosis, but the patient had not taken the medication House's fellowship applicants had given him.

At the same time Foreman, who leads his own team in another hospital, had a patient who did not respond to broad spectrum antibiotics, had liver failure, high lactic acid levels, jaundice, blurry vision, a fever, and lung inefficiencies. This led Foreman to diagnose the patient with anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Foreman's supervisor is reluctant to believe his diagnosis because it is not the usual and cautious decision. However, Foreman treats the patient without her approval and saves her life. Foreman loses his job for this decision.

For more information on Melanoma, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/melanoma/

For more information on ocular melanoma, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/intraocularmelanoma

For more information on Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/non-hodgkins-lymphoma/

Topic: Liver cancer, brain cancer, renal cell carcinoma
Original air date - October 2, 2007: “The Right Stuff“

House's patient, a pilot for the Air Force who hopes to become an astronaut, comes to the hospital with synesthesia, a phenomenon in which the brain registers stimulation of one sense as stimulation of a different sense. In this case the patient described "hearing with my eyes." After a series of tests, House and his job applicants discover additional symptoms including a high red blood cell count, panic attacks and tachyarrhythmia, a fast, irregular heartbeat.

One of the job applicants proposes a diagnosis of liver cancer. However, the patient will not consent to an MRI to scan her liver. Instead, House decides to test the patient's liver function by giving her liquor. This leads the patient to have trouble breathing.

Concluding that the patient either has lung cancer or tubular sclerosis, House gives the patient breast implants in order to do a biopsy on the patient's lungs without leaving an obvious scar. This allows House to discover cysts on the patient's lung and to diagnose Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome. Von Hippel-Lindau disease is a rare inherited disorder characterized by the abnormal growth of tumors and/or cysts in the kidneys, eyes, brain, spinal cord, adrenal glands, and other parts of the body. While many of the tumors are noncancerous, some -- especially those of the kidney -- may be cancerous. The current standard treatment is surgical removal.

For more information on liver cancer, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/liver/

For more information on lung cancer, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/lung/

For more information on renal cell carcinoma, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/kidney/

For more information on brain cancer, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/brain/

For more information on Von Hippel-Lindau disease, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ft-NCI-04-C-0238

For more information on cancer diagnosis, including biopsies, please visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/overview/page7

Topic: Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, AIDS-related lymphoma
Original Air Date - November 22, 2005: “Hunting”

A patient is pestering some of the hospital staff when he suddenly falls into anaphylactic shock by collapsing, wheezing, and experiencing respiratory distress. The staff believes that he has full blown AIDS.

Once admitted, the patient complains of chest pains, constrained breathing and coughs blood. He is eventually diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which refers to any group of malignant cancers that are found mainly in the lymph nodes and spleen. But the medical team must also consider AIDS-related lymphoma, which can cause other symptoms such as weight loss, fever, and night sweats.

For more information on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/adult-non-hodgkins

Topic: Thymoma
Original Air Date - November 15, 2005: “Spin”

A seasoned cyclist takes a spin for the worse when he gasps for air and then collapses. After ordering several tests, House and his team conclude that he has thymoma, a disease in which cancer cells form on the outside surface of the thymus, a small organ under the breastbone. Symptoms may include a cough that doesn't go away, chest pain, and trouble breathing.

For more information on thymoma, visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/thymoma

Topic: Acoustic Neuroma & Nesidioblastoma
Original Air Date - November 1, 2005: “TB or Not TB”

When an elderly male patient arrives with symptoms including headaches, nausea, vomiting, changes in mood, abnormal heart rhythm and limited ability to concentrate, the team of physicians consider a brain tumor, or more specifically an acoustic neuroma. When the patient sustains these symptoms, as well as low blood sugar, the team suspects a nesidioblastoma. This is a type of islet cell cancer that makes too much insulin in one’s pancreas, causing hypoglycemia.

For more information on islet cell cancers, visit http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/isletcell

Topic: Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma
Original Air Date - September 20, 2005: "Autopsy"

Andie is a 9-year old girl with terminal alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. This is a form of soft tissue cancer, which involves a tumor affecting Andie's lung and heart. Andie must undergo surgery to eliminate a blood clot which is causing hallucinations, but the procedure involves stopping her heart for a short period. As a young girl dealing with the effects of cancer, Andie is living on a rollercoaster of twists and turns and experiencing an array of symptoms, tests, misdiagnoses, treatments, hospitals, doctors, and emotional issues.

For more information on alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/childrhabdomyosarcoma

Topic: Squamous Cell Lung Cancer
Original Air Date - September 13, 2005: "Acceptance"

Dr. Cameron sees a patient named Cindy who needs a health clearance for her new job. Cindy appears only to be a little anemic and suffering from a slight cough, but the x-rays show differently. Cameron presents Cindy's file to House, who immediately dismisses it as metastatic squamous cell lung cancer. The patient may have only six months to live. Cameron begs him to think of other ideas, but he urges her to inform Cindy that she is dying.

For more information on squamous cell lung cancer, visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/non-small-cell-lung

Topic: Pheochromocytoma
Original Air Date - September 13, 2005: "Acceptance"

Dr. House takes on a death-row patient, Clarence, who is suffering from hallucinations, sudden attacks of rage and a rapid heart rate. House guesses that Clarence's symptoms are the result of drugs. In the hospital, Clarence complains of stomach pain and blood is discovered on his bed sheets. After further consideration, House determines that Clarence has pheochromocytoma, a rare disease that involves a tumor on the adrenal gland that causes random adrenaline secretions.

For more information on pheochromocytoma, visit: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/pheochromocytoma