When Clelia Lavoie, then 49, began experiencing abdominal pain in 2019, she had a feeling it was something serious despite dismissals from her doctor. Lavoie’s intuition was right. A colonoscopy led to a diagnosis of stage IV colorectal cancer that had metastasized to her thyroid, back, and liver. She needed surgery to remove part of … Read more
Patricia Smith’s experience with cancer will stay with her for the rest of her life. “Walking through deep waters changes you,” she says. “You’re still the same person, but you’re different.” In 2009, Smith was diagnosed with B-cell diffuse lymphoma after she experienced weeks of fatigue and found a lump under her right arm. She … Read more
Adult Hodgkin lymphoma has one of the highest cure rates among all cancers. Still, the standard lymphoma therapies – including chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and steroid therapy – may result in long-term side-effects beginning during treatment, and/or late-term effects arising years or decades after treatment. This is why check-ups and screenings are so important following treatment. … Read more
Cancer survivorship programs and services used to be something that patients would think about as they neared the end of active treatment, but that’s changing. “More Americans are surviving cancer than ever before, and partly as a result of that, the model for survivorship care is changing,” says Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, director of Dana-Farber’s … Read more
Regardless of diagnosis, nutrition is an important part of cancer treatment. Foods and diet can help maintain overall health, control side effects, and sometimes prevent future medical problems. “Good nutrition plays a key role in cancer prevention as well as survivorship,” says Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD, CSO, a nutritionist with Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center. … Read more
Cognitive dysfunction is a common and frustrating side effect for many patients who undergo chemotherapy. The condition – also called “chemobrain” – can create problems with memory, attention and concentration, information processing, and mental skills used for organizing and scheduling. For many years, medical professionals were skeptical that these cognitive issues were a real side effect of … Read more
Award-winning photographer Richard Conboy understands the value of enjoying the moment, both in his pictures and in his life. Conboy had Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a teenager, and 40 years later, he beat colon cancer with the help of the Dana-Farber.
The first time Ashley Bernath dropped her then-three-year-old daughter, Charlie, off at preschool, there was no hug, no tears, no long goodbye — just a quick “see you later” and a full-steam-ahead dash for the classroom. Charlie’s excitement that morning in September 2025 was understandable. She had spent the previous 15 months in active cancer … Read more
CAR T-cell therapy is a newer form of immunotherapy that can treat some types of blood cancers, such as lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia. Patients can be treated with this therapy as an inpatient or outpatient, depending on their case and specific needs. “Historically, we were giving these therapies in the hospital, but what we’ve … Read more
A stem cell transplant is a procedure during which doctors either replace diseased or ineffective stem cells with healthy new stem cells as treatment for leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood cancers or diseases. The infusion of healthy stem cells reestablishes a healthy blood supply and rebuilds the body’s immune system to effectively fight cancer. At Dana-Farber, patients can be eligible for a stem cell transplant in either an outpatient or inpatient setting. This is often determined by a variety of factors, including … Read more
When Ann Carroll was diagnosed with cancer at age 28, her dream to get married and have a baby felt out of reach. Now, seven years later and cancer-free, she is living that dream with her husband and their 7-month-old son, Teddy. “I didn’t think I would get this far,” says Carroll, of Boston, Massachusetts. “My whole journey started when I walked into my doctor’s office because I wasn’t feeling well.” As a graduate student in 2019 studying clinical psychology at Northwestern University, Carroll started experiencing lightheadedness and tunnel … Read more
The walk is a little different each day, sometimes a twisting, turning path through the various side streets of Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, and on other occasions more of a straight line down bustling thoroughfares. One thing, though, remains consistent: no matter which route Paris Prinsen, 21, takes from her apartment to classes at the … Read more
Nolan Young has aspirations of a career in both the Air Force and FBI, and even at age 15 it’s easy to imagine him achieving these goals. After all, when you’ve already endured the rigors of chemotherapy, radiation, emergency surgeries, and a stem cell transplant for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) — all before high … Read more
On the surface, it might appear that Meghan McLyman and Jay Wood don’t have much in common. McLyman is a mother and professor who teaches dance, and Wood is a stay-at-home father and former architect. They came to Dana-Farber for different reasons — McLyman had breast cancer and Wood was diagnosed with prostate cancer — … Read more
Like many people, Karen Lagasse has never been a big fan of the dentist. But she’ll always be thankful for a 2013 tooth extraction for paving the way to a life-saving discovery. Noticing Lagasse’s elevated blood pressure, her dentist asked when she had last visited the doctor. Lagasse admitted it had been a few years, … Read more
Zip codes didn’t exist until 1963 and were established to help speed the delivery of mail. Today, we rely much less on paper mail but strangely, zip codes play a bigger role. They define our neighborhoods, which define our schools, food stores, health centers, even our risk of cancer. There are many factors that influence … Read more
Clinicians and researchers have recognized a disturbing trend in recent years: colorectal cancer (CRC) in young people is skyrocketing. In individuals under the age of 50, the incidence of CRC has increased about 2% each year since the 1990s, and, according to the American Cancer Society, is now the leading cause of death in males … Read more
Kathy Giusti was driving in rush hour traffic one January day in 1996 when her doctor called and requested they meet the next morning about her recent blood tests. Alarmed, Giusti insisted on more details, and the doctor eventually shared his concerns that she may have multiple myeloma. Giusti’s response to this news was quick … Read more
Jim Omel, MD, helped many cancer patients during his long career as a family physician, and that has not changed since his own 1997 diagnosis with multiple myeloma. What has changed is the reach of his support. While Omel, 77, cared for primarily farming families near his Nebraska clinic during 25-plus years in practice, his … Read more
In Catherine Argyrople’s “Growing Pains,” a scene set on a sunny day at a high school pool party becomes a way to explore how pediatric cancer can affect teenagers in survivorship. The protagonist, a curly-haired highschooler named Zoe wears a bikini for the first time in her life, revealing a scar on her stomach. A … Read more