Primary liver cancer is cancer that forms in the tissues of the liver. Secondary liver cancer is cancer that spreads to the liver from another part of the body. Most liver cancer is secondary or metastatic. Primary liver cancer, which starts in the liver, accounts for about 2 percent of cancers in the U.S., but … Read more
CAR T-cell therapy, like all forms of cancer immunotherapy, seeks to sharpen and strengthen the immune system’s inherent cancer-fighting powers. It involves treating patients with modified versions of their own immune system T cells — white blood cells that help protect the body from disease. CAR T-cell therapy has been approved by the U.S. Food … Read more
In early 2015, Kim Delling had put her 2009 bout with breast cancer behind her. Then, at a routine checkup, her doctor ordered an additional test. “I knew something was up,” recalls Delling, a 50-year-old real estate agent in Wilmington, Mass. The cancer had come back. It had spread to her lungs, liver, and lymph nodes and … Read more
Immunotherapy refers to treatments that use the body’s own immune system to combat diseases. While immunotherapy hasn’t yet had as big an impact on the treatment of breast cancer as it has on some other cancers, scientists agree on its potential to improve outcomes for many patients with breast malignancies. Who can be treated with … Read more
The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, which affects about one-third of patients receiving chemotherapy, include numbness, tingling, and pain in the hands and feet. Some patients don’t experience these symptoms after treatment ends, but in other patients, they are long-lasting. There is currently no preventive or treatment for peripheral neuropathy, which is caused by the degeneration … Read more
People with diabetes are at higher risk for some, but not all, forms of cancer. The relationship between the two diseases is complex and surrounded with unanswered questions. The strongest links are for cancers of the liver, pancreas, and endometrium, which are twice as likely to occur in people with Type 2 diabetes, according to … Read more
Harry Clark has faced many academic challenges in his dozen years of brain cancer treatment, but through surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy, one person has always been there to guide and reassure the high school junior and his family on scholastic matters. School psychologist Marybeth Morris, EdM, is one half of a dynamic duo supporting pediatric … Read more
When thinking of side effects of cancer treatments, nausea, fatigue and hair loss often come to mind – but what about oral health complications? Therapies that target cancer cells can also affect normal, healthy cells in the mouth and throat, and consequently, oral complications are common for cancer patients. What is oral medicine? Oral medicine … Read more
A drug called Axicabtagene ciloleucel (KTE-C19) has become the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy approved to treat a form of cancer in adults, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today. The decision means the drug, known as Yescarta, can now be used for some adults with refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The FDA ruling in … Read more
Although she had been fully prepped on what to expect, Barbara Losordo was a bit surprised at the ease and speed of her recovery from surgery for endometrial cancer. Discharged from the hospital the same day she had undergone the procedure, she needed no pain medication afterward. Within a week, she was driving. Within a month, … Read more
Medically reviewed by Mehra Golshan, MD, MBA and Yoon Sun Chun, MD Some women choose to receive breast implants, for cosmetic reasons or breast reconstruction, following a mastectomy. But does this result in a heightened chance of developing cancer? Fact: Women with breast implants have an increased, but still extremely low, risk of developing anaplastic … Read more
Like many of Dana-Farber’s youngest patients, 3-year-old Hannah Packman brought a favorite plaything to each of her Jimmy Fund Clinic visits. Lulu the doll, however, was unique because of the extra attention she received from pediatric social worker Deborah Berk, LICSW. When Hannah had a blood draw, Berk arranged for Lulu to have one as … Read more
When breast cancer spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body, such as the bones, brain, and/or other organs, it is called metastatic breast cancer. Depending on their location, metastatic cancer growths can cause pain and neurologic symptoms such as numbness and weakness. Patients with metastatic breast cancer, which is treatable but not … Read more
The vow Chukwuma Anyanwu made to himself shortly after the birth of his third child in June 2015 speaks volumes, not only about the dire state of his health at the time but also about the mettle with which he is made. “My goal was to be able to walk before my son did,” the … Read more
Medically reviewed by Cecilia Larocca, MD New bumps or lumps on the skin can be concerning, especially if you aren’t sure whether it is a cancerous growth or a benign cyst. While it is often possible to distinguish between the two by touch and appearance, in some cases additional tests may be needed to determine … Read more
By Brittany Collins “Men don’t get breast cancer,” a practitioner told my father, who had concerning symptoms and a sister who carries a BRCA-2 mutation. “You shouldn’t worry.” This was how my family’s cancer journey began. Years prior, my paternal grandmother passed away from the disease, and my aunt had recently completed treatments for her … Read more
Vaccines, drugs, and modified human cells that activate the immune system against cancer have improved outcomes and prolonged lives in some types of cancer in the past few years. For patients with glioblastoma, the most common primary brain tumor in adults, immunotherapy has shown some promise in clinical trials — but it can’t yet be … Read more
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a type of leukemia in which a group of white blood cells, called lymphocytes, are affected. Leukemia is the most common form of cancer in children, and about 80 percent of children with leukemia have acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy was approved in August 2017 for the … Read more
When breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, such as the bones, brain, liver, or lungs, it is called metastatic (also referred to as advanced or stage IV) breast cancer. While it is not curable, metastatic breast cancer can be treatable — especially with the advent of new therapies, including biologic targeted treatments … Read more
Twenty years to the day after undergoing the stem cell transplant that saved him, Todd Ellison reunited with the Dana-Farber caregivers who changed his life – in more ways than one. Ellison, who was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in his early 20s, shared handshakes and “thank you” cake with his doctors Joseph Antin, … Read more