She was a popular girl. She was smart and had set her sights on a career in medicine. In the next decade, she would excel in college and medical school and marry a fellow medical student, Paul Duncan. But somewhere along the way, the promise of Marilyn Duncan's childhood gave way to something else. The longtime Lovelace Health Systems pediatrician wasn't a certified oncologist, so he often relied on Marilyn Duncan when one of his young patients was diagnosed as having cancer, he said.
Some experts disagree.
While the medical questions can be argued, some things are clear. Children have died, families have been destroyed, careers have been ruined. Marilyn Duncan Responds Marilyn Duncan declined to be interviewed for this series but provided a written statement through her attorney. Nationwide, three out of four children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, still were alive five years after diagnosis. At University of New Mexico Hospital, it was just two of four.