By Stephen Perez Cancer has a way of putting your life on hold and making you prioritize your health, treatments, and your best attempts to not feel sick through the process. While there’s never a good time for this interruption, my diagnosis came at a particularly difficult time: the second semester of my senior year … Read more
Swollen lymph nodes are usually a sign of infection by bacteria or viruses. In a small percentage of cases, though, the swelling can be caused by cancer. Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped tissues that act as filters for lymph. Lymph is a clear fluid that seeps out of the smallest branches of blood vessels and … Read more
Evan Lavigne was part of tight-knit units, both as a high school hockey player and a member of the United States Coast Guard. And when the 24-year-old learned in January that he had lymphoma – just one week before entering the police academy – teammates were there to support him. Lavigne, already a conditional member … Read more
While lymphomas and lymphocytic leukemias are both blood disorders, they are not the same disease. The main difference between lymphomas and lymphocytic leukemias is the location of the cancer cells. In leukemia, they’re found primarily in the bone marrow and blood; in lymphoma, they exist mainly in the lymph system, a network of tissues and … Read more
The past two years have seen a surge of new treatments for blood cancers, such as lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma. Research on the genetic flaws underlying specific cancer types has led to new precision drugs such as ibrutinib and idelalisib and new immunotherapy agents that are improving outcomes in many patients with difficult-to-treat forms … Read more
An immune checkpoint inhibitor is a drug that unleashes an immune system attack on cancer cells. Often made of antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors act on the immune system, therefore such drugs are known as immunotherapies. How do checkpoint inhibitors work? Checkpoint inhibitors seek to overcome one of cancer’s main defenses against an immune system attack. Immune … Read more
Gina Johnson and Connie Grayson have a combined 53 years teaching in the public school system. Last year, however, their cancer diagnoses prompted them to incorporate a new element into their lesson plans. “When I was diagnosed with lymphoma in September 2014, one of my student’s moms had just passed away from cancer,” says Grayson, … Read more
Before Alden Coldwell and her fiancé, Peter Dearborn, were married in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire at the end of June, the couple opted for a different kind of bridal shower. On June 14, family and friends of the bride and groom gathered at the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center in Boston to give … Read more
During a year in which both his wife and mother battled cancer, Andrew Macrae often felt as if he were summiting a mountain. Now, to honor their journey and support Dana-Farber, Macrae is scaling the 29,029 feet needed to reach the peak of the world’s tallest mountain – Mount Everest – without nearing the Himalayas. … Read more
Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma are the two main types of lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system produces and transports white blood cells to fight infection. While they have many characteristics in common, there are some significant differences between Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including the age groups they affect, how they … Read more
To mark its 50th anniversary, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) invited physicians, patients, and the public to name the most important advances in clinical cancer research in the past half century. From more than 2,000 responses, the top choice was a cure for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma developed by scientists at the National Cancer … Read more
By Christina Dixon Cancer turned my world upside-down overnight. I had just graduated from college, moved to Boston after finishing undergrad at Washington and Lee in Virginia, and started my dream job on an interest rate derivatives sales desk. Suddenly, instead of working, spending time with my friends, and playing sports, my life was filled with … Read more
In the treatment of blood cancers and disorders, doctors and researchers are focusing their sights on the immune system and how to bolster its ability to fight off diseases like leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. “Understanding how you control the immune system is a big theme in treatment for these diseases,” says David A. Williams, … Read more
Thousands of people learn each year – usually after a routine blood test – that they have a condition that may develop into a blood cancer such as leukemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma. The news is often followed by an equally surprising addendum: the condition won’t be treated until it becomes a full-fledged cancer. The … Read more
Although lymphoma diagnoses are often categorized as either Hodgkin lymphoma or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, there are many subtypes of each disease, with more than 50 subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma alone. Most forms of the more than 70,000 new cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed in the U.S. each year can be broken up into two main subtypes: … Read more
When Lisa Robert is interviewed at Fenway Park for the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon presented by Arbella Insurance Foundation (Aug 19-20), her mind will no doubt drift back to 1976, when she was a 7-year-old leukemia patient at Dana-Farber and had the thrill of her life. She threw out the first pitch of the season … Read more
When you’re 21, the last words you expect to hear are “you have cancer.” But, that was exactly the news I received in 1976 after a routine trip to my college infirmary landed me in Boston Children’s Hospital with Hodgkin lymphoma. Thanks to new treatments developed through clinical trials and a summer undergoing radiation therapy … Read more
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh recently gave the keynote address at Dana-Farber’s Living Proof: Celebrating Survivorship event. He shared his experience as a child being treated for Burkitt’s lymphoma at Dana-Farber and Boston Children’s Hospital. Below are some excerpts from his speech: I was diagnosed with cancer at age 7. I went through treatment for almost four years. At … Read more
By Cindy Coyle
My husband Bill was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma in January 2012. Needless to say it was a great shock to us and our three children, Billy, Sasha-Lee, and Jimmy.
Looking back, I realize how two unlikely events guided us through his treatment and recovery: a tattoo and a bulldog.
Ann LaCasce, MD, a medical oncologist in the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center Adult Lymphoma Program, answered a variety of questions about Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma during a live web chat hosted by Dana-Farber last month.