Monday, January 19, 2026 – Closed
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The harrowing tale of Jim Brusso’s battle with recurring melanoma is featured in a story in the Encinitas Advocate. Brusso is a patient of cCARE’s Dr. Ed McClay, a long-time expert in melanoma treatment. When Jim visited Dr. McClay in April, he’d planned on having major brain surgery to remove a tumor on his pituitary gland that was causing him to lose his eyesight.
Dr. McClay suggested they try a round of newly-approved oral medications to see if the melanoma might respond to a less invasive approach. Brusso was prescribed a combination of two cutting-edge drugs, Zelboraf and Cotellic, and the results were extraordinary. Jim reports that his eyesight fully returned within a week of starting the meds. Anita Brusso, Jim’s wife, said “it was a miracle.” They recently celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary.
“In 2016, I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 41,” said Dr. Marianne Ingheim, the facilitator for the Pages of Hope supportive journaling class. “Then in 2023, I had a recurrence.”
“Mostly it’s the cause of inflammation that can happen,” said Dr. Abdul Mustajeeb Haseeb, a medical oncologist & hematologist at cCare in Northeast Fresno. “Changing the gut biome of the bacteria that really increases the inflammation and increases the risk for cancer.”
Some women live with denser breast tissue than others, which puts them at higher risk for breast cancer.
“In 2016, I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 41,” said Dr. Marianne Ingheim, the facilitator for the Pages of Hope supportive journaling class. “Then in 2023, I had a recurrence.”
“Mostly it’s the cause of inflammation that can happen,” said Dr. Abdul Mustajeeb Haseeb, a medical oncologist & hematologist at cCare in Northeast Fresno. “Changing the gut biome of the bacteria that really increases the inflammation and increases the risk for cancer.”
Some women live with denser breast tissue than others, which puts them at higher risk for breast cancer.
Your Central Valley sat down with several of our doctors to talk about the comprehensive approach cCARE takes to cancer care.