Lynch Syndrome Center Guides Family Throughout Cancer Journey 

The Scragg family always knew it was a possibility, but it still came as a shock.  It was August 2021, and Mark Scragg, then 33, was undergoing treatment for stage 4 stomach cancer. After just three months of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, scans showed no sign of the tumor first discovered in his stomach that spring … Read more

Breast Cancer Survivor Provides Textured Wig Options to Women of Color 

In the midst of a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation for ​​breast cancer, Dianne Austin thought finding a wig to cover her balding head would be easy. She quickly learned otherwise.  As a Black woman, Austin desired a wig that resembled her tightly coiled, kinky and curly hair. This was 2015, and although several hospitals near … Read more

Grandmother Continues Life of Adventure on Endometrial Cancer Clinical Trial  

Roberta “Bert” Green is a woman with a full and busy life. When not driving across the country with her husband, Ralph, in their RV, she alternates between paddle boarding, walking, e-biking, and skiing with the changing seasons around her rural Vermont home. Retired after a long career as a school neuropsychologist, she also makes … Read more

State Rep Stays Committed to Constituents During Pancreatic Cancer Treatment 

Ann-Margaret Ferrante likes a good fight. The daughter and granddaughter of Gloucester, Mass. fishermen has long devoted herself to helping those in and around her hardy hometown, first as a lawyer, and since 2009 as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.   For the last three years, however, Ferrante has had to balance her … Read more

For Neurodiverse Patient, New Program Provides Comfort, Allies 

Naomi Dogan, PhD, still remembers a visit to the hospital earlier this year for blood work, after joining a clinical trial for patients incurring symptoms related to polycythemia vera — one of a group of rare blood disorders known as myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).   In a far corner of the large room a machine quietly hummed … Read more

Living with Multiple Myeloma, Doctor Becomes Powerful Resource and Patient Advocate 

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

Lynch Syndrome Center Helps Family Stay Vigilant — and Grow 

The first time Jay Reese was diagnosed with colon cancer, he didn’t tell his preschool-aged children. After it came back decades later, he told them immediately — and then suggested they take action.   Jay underwent genetic testing after his 2012 colon cancer recurrence which revealed he had Lynch syndrome, an inherited genetic condition which carries … Read more

Boston Marathon Run is Mother-Daughter Moment for Breast and Uterine Cancer Survivor 

Runners call it Heartbreak Hill, but for Michelle O’Brien the long, rising stretch of pavement that crosses the 20-mile point of the Boston Marathon® route represents the top of the mountain.   Just over three years after being diagnosed in back-to-back months with two unrelated cancers — invasive breast cancer in December 2020, and then stage … Read more

A Patient-Doctor Bond Forged in Fighting Follicular Lymphoma  

Throughout the 20 years Robert Jenkins has been living with follicular lymphoma, he has been through many different treatments — from traditional chemotherapy protocols to innovative approaches like CAR T-cell therapy and bispecific antibodies. His lengthy survivorship has allowed Jenkins to benefit from new advances as they’ve emerged, and along with his wife, Lorna, one … Read more

Multiple Myeloma Patient Shines Bright as CAR T-Cell Therapy Outpatient 

As a systems operator who works to help maintain the electrical grid for New York state, Brian Houlihan, 46, is used to getting power to the people. But when the multiple myeloma he has lived with since 2011 stopped responding to chemotherapy, it was Houlihan who needed a recharge.  He got it, through an innovative … Read more

After Outpatient Stem Cell Transplant, MDS Survivor Writes New Chapter 

David Trueblood’s long career in journalism was shaped by new technology, including the rise of digital photography and the impact of online media. So, upon learning in early 2023 that he would need a stem cell transplant due to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare blood disorder impacting his bone marrow, Trueblood appreciated the role innovation … Read more

​​​Retiree Relishing Life After Advanced Kidney Cancer Treatment 

The last thing Alan Rubin imagined he’d be doing after retiring from a successful career in financial services was helping his son run a hot dog cart.   Then he was diagnosed with stage III kidney cancer, and found himself in another unexpected locale: Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center. Like the decision to join his son’s business … Read more

Young Adult Cancer Patients Prove Powerful Advocates in Washington D.C.

Cancer has not stopped Bethany Ross and Jeremy Pivor from undertaking numerous adventures, from Pivor’s sailing trips on the high seas to Bethany’s forays into skydiving and outdoor rock climbing. It is also often the catalyst for their actions, such as when both Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center patients headed to Washington, D.C. to advocate on … Read more

Follicular Lymphoma Patient Has Time On His Side After CAR T-Cell Therapy 

After nearly nine years of living with follicular lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), it took just a few minutes for things to change dramatically for Marc Cummings this spring.   That was all the time needed to transfer the small bag of modified CAR T-cells — which had been recrafted from Cummings’ own T … Read more