Wendy S. Harpham is a doctor of internal medicine, 35-year cancer survivor, best-selling author, and nationally recognized leader in survivorship. She has devoted her career to helping patients get good care and live as fully as possible.
Born, raised, and educated in New York, she moved to Texas in 1979 to complete her post-graduate training in internal medicine. In 1983, she opened a solo practice at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, where she developed teaching tools to educate her patients about their illnesses and treatments.
In 1990, Dr. Harpham was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. When ongoing illness forced Dr. Harpham to stop practicing medicine and redefine her career, she turned to writing and speaking as ways to continue to educate, comfort, and inspire patients.
Dr. Harpham has written seven books, including two books based on her experience as a parent facing cancer with young children in the home: Becky and the Worry Cup for children whose parent has cancer, and When a Parent Has Cancer: A Guide to Caring for Your Children for parents who wish to help guide their children through the upheaval of a parent’s diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.
Dr. Harpham has also partnered with National Breast Cancer Foundation on various projects, including the When a Parent Has Cancer series, a collection of free resources for families whose parent is facing a cancer diagnosis.
After many courses of treatment, including investigational drugs received in three clinical trials, Dr. Harpham’s lymphoma has remained in remission since 2007. Aftereffects and late effects have prevented her from returning to clinical medicine. In her free time, she enjoys reading, speedwalking, visits with her children and six grandchildren, and time with her husband, Ted.
For more information about Dr. Harpham, visit wendyharpham.com.
