Beth Dougherty

Four-Time Cancer Survivor is Five-Time Boston Marathon Runner 

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Mary Shertenlieb wanted to toe the line at the Boston Marathon in 2025, but her body was not on board; she was in the middle of treatment for her fourth cancer diagnosis. This year, however, she ran, completing her fifth Boston and her sixth marathon overall.  “I feel so lucky that I get to do this,” says Shertenlieb, age 50, who has raised $156,000 to date for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “I feel this tremendous gratitude at the start line for the generosity and understanding … Read more

Key Questions to Ask When Considering a Clinical Trial 

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A cancer clinical trial is a research study that is designed to test new ways to treat cancer. Trials test a range of possibilities, from treatment, devices, and diagnostics to screening, approaches to prevention, and other forms of intervention.  Clinical trials determine if a given intervention is safe and effective and are essential for improvements in cancer medicine.  “All of the medicines and approaches that we use to treat cancer are available because they … Read more

Thirty Years After Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Still Going Strong 

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It was a hot day on the links in New Hampshire in July 2014. Carol MacKenzie recalls that her neck was strangely sore. By the end of the round of golf, she had a fever.  Soon after, MacKenzie met with an oncologist. In 1996, she had been diagnosed with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer and successfully treated. Eighteen years later, … Read more

Still Skiing at 82 After Stem Cell Transplant 

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Dienna Lehner grew up in a Massachusetts town with a small ski hill and a rope tow.   “It was hot dogs, tomato soup, and an outdoor fireplace,” she recalls. “And it was Nirvana.”  Later in life, she opted to spend her winters in Park City, Utah, to enjoy big mountain skiing. The conditions have been mild this year, but last year she skied all season – which … Read more

Cell-Death Safety Net a Potential New Cancer Target 

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In the rare event that an elevator cable breaks, modern buildings have additional fail-safe mechanisms. For example, counterweight and mechanical brakes prevent the car from plummeting to the ground.   Similarly, cells have fail-safe mechanisms to prevent them from death under stress, according to new research from the lab of Dana-Farber investigator Loren Walensky, MD, PhD. A well-known process in cells keeps pro-death proteins at bay. Walensky … Read more

Ten Cancer-Related Breakthroughs Giving Us Hope in 2026 

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Cancer treatment has evolved dramatically in the first quarter of this century, but there is still much more to do to improve the lives of people with cancer.   At Dana-Farber, research continues in the clinic and in the lab in efforts to continue to bring advancements in treatment and prevention for patients. That research has resulted in exciting … Read more

Dana-Farber Researchers Create Experimental AI-based Oncologist’s Assistant 

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There are over 100 precision medicines approved for the treatment of cancer. These therapies work to shut down the cancer-driving effects of specific mutations.  Matching a patient to a medicine — the practice of precision oncology — is complex and advancing rapidly. However, there is no easy, standardized way for oncologists to stay informed of advances.  “The clinicians we engaged with said that catching up with FDA approvals is far … Read more

Early Detection at Dana-Farber Helps Patient Avoid Unnecessary Treatment 

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In February 2024, while being treated for pneumonia, doctors noticed that Rebecca Santorelli’s spleen was enlarged.  “No one was concerned at first,” recalls Santorelli, 61, who lives outside of Albany, New York.   Doctors estimate spleen size with fingerbreadths — or approximate widths of a finger — below the rib cage, with normal being about zero. … Read more

Dana-Farber Research Opens the Door to Finding More Effective Treatments for Ewing Sarcoma 

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In 2014, Dana-Farber pediatric oncologist Brian Crompton, MD, discovered that a gene called STAG2 is mutated in about 15 percent of patients with Ewing sarcoma, a form of bone cancer that largely occurs in children and adolescents. Now, that molecular insight could hold the keys to advancing treatment for the disease.   New research led by senior authors Crompton and pediatric oncologist Katherine Janeway, MD, Dana-Farber Pediatric Oncology Section Chief and Chair of the Children’s … Read more

Three Ways Research Could Improve Pancreatic Cancer Treatment 

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Pancreatic cancer has long been difficult to detect and treat. Dana-Farber experts in the  Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, however, are working to change that with research efforts in three key areas that are poised to advance early detection, early intervention, and treatment of the disease.   They presented these topics for discussion with … Read more

Dana-Farber Research Uncovers Potential Targeted Therapy for Endometrial Cancer 

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Jessica St. Laurent, MD, was sure something had gone wrong. The results of an experiment she’d run showed that the cancer cells she was studying had abnormally high levels of a specific collection of proteins of interest to her team.  “I remember seeing the gradient and thinking, This can’t be right,” says St. Laurent, who … Read more

What is the Difference Between Gene Therapy and Immunotherapy?

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Gene therapy and immunotherapy are both types of treatment for cancer and other diseases. They represent different approaches to disease therapy, though there is some overlap.  What is gene therapy?  Gene therapy is a way of treating or preventing disease by altering the genetic instructions within an individual’s cells. Most diseases aren’t caused by a … Read more

CAR T-Cell Therapy Delivers a Revelatory Experience for Myeloma Patient 

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Linda Lane was still fatigued months after having COVID-19 in January of 2021.   “I told my doctor that I had not been this tired since I had a newborn in the house,” says Lane, now 57 and living on Cape Cod. “That got her attention.”  Her bloodwork came back with abnormal results. By May, the … Read more

5 Things to Know About Radioligand Therapy

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Radioligand therapy is an innovative medicine that specifically targets cancer cells. Instead of using chemicals to kill the cancer, it uses radioactivity, a sub-atomic physical phenomenon that can damage cells. Several radioligand therapies, which also may be called radiopharmaceutical therapy or theranostics, are approved for the treatment of a range of cancers, including prostate cancer … Read more

Dana-Farber Treats First Patient with Approved Gene Therapy for Beta Thalassemia 

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A few years ago, Oscar Diep, a 33-year-old software engineer living in Weymouth, Mass., started needing blood transfusions more often to manage a blood disorder called beta thalassemia. He also noticed that it was becoming harder for the nurses to find a vein for his infusions.  On top of this, Diep and his then girlfriend, … Read more

Aggressive Prostate Cancer: What’s the Latest in Treatment Advances? 

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New approaches to treatment are improving outcomes for patients with aggressive prostate cancer, which is prostate cancer that has spread or is at higher risk of spreading. In addition, new tests are helping guide treatment choices as more treatment options become available.  Therapies used to treat aggressive prostate cancer include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and newer … Read more